In case you thought star Robert Downey Jr. was being overly optimistic, producer Joel Silver now confirms "Sherlock Holmes 3" could begin filming this fall.

"Downey said he wants to do it," Silver told Collider. "He’s gotta launch into another 'Avengers' movie, right after the New Year, so we’re trying to get it done. We have a script that we like. Jude [Law] is available and Downey is available, and we’re hoping we can get it done. If it works, great. If not, we’ll do it another time. But, it looks like it could happen now.”

James Coyne was revealed last month to be rewriting Drew Pearce's script, mere days after Downey announced that he and director Guy Ritchie could begin work on the Warner Bros. sequel before the end of the year. Collider notes that while "Avengers: Infinity War" is set to begin filming in November, it's likely Downey won't be needed on set until early 2017, leaving a narrow window to start production on "Sherlock Holmes 3."

Silver also signaled that the hope is the third "Sherlock Holmes" film isn't the final one, saying, "How many Bond films have they made? As long as there’s a character, we can work with it. It’s not an end story. We can keep going, as long as people want to do it. It’s [the actor’s] call."