Robert Downey Jr wants to create a Sherlock Holmes-themed cinematic universe similar to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Speaking at Fast Company’s Innovation Festival, Downey Jr. and his wife/producing partner Susan laid out their vision for their "mystery-verse," which would include movies and TV shows.

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"At this point, we really feel that there is not a mystery-verse built out anywhere, and Conan Doyle is the definitive voice in that arena, I think, to this day," Downey Jr said. "So to me, why do a third movie if you're not going to be able to spin off into some real gems of diversity and other times and elements?"

"We think there’s an opportunity to build it out more," Susan Downey added. "Spinoff characters from a third movie, to see what's going on in the television landscape, to see what WarnerMedia is starting to build out, things with HBO and HBO Max."

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Downey Jr. stressed that he is not looking to copy the MCU — which began with his titular role in 2008's Iron Man — or HBO's other mystery franchise, Perry Mason. "We're not repeaters, we don't want to just do what’s been done somewhere else," Downey Jr. said. "But I think the model itself has become much more dimensionalized than it was before."

That does not mean that the Downey's are not planning on learning from those that have came before them. The two watched Joss Whedon and Kevin Feige build out the MCU for over ten years and hope to build on their success.

"I do think that the decade of tutelage and observation, what we were both able to have with Marvel, watching them build out and see all the opportunities, was invaluable. It was like a master class," Susan said. "And they really did know what they were doing and they had this tight-knit group of people from [the] jump locked into a vision."

"What I saw was very humble beginnings, very uncertain outcomes, a lot of creative risk-taking, but there was also an algorithm to the potential," Downey Jr. said.

Sherlock Holmes universe would be the latest attempt by a studio to build a cinematic universe. Aside from the MCU, the most successful version is the DCEU, but those films have received mixed reviews and the team-up film Justice League was considered a commercial and critical failure. Other cinematic universes include Legendary Entertainment's MonsterVerse, which features Godzilla and King Kong, and the failed Dark Universe, which would have included Dracula, Frankenstein and The Mummy.

There are currently no plans for any projects in the world of Sherlock Holmes beyond Sherlock Holmes 3 in development.

Sherlock Holmes 3 stars Robert Downey Jr. The film premieres on Dec. 22, 2021.

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Source: Fast Company