'Sherlock Holmes 3 on backburner at the moment'

London: Filmmaker Dexter Fletcher, who is on board to direct the third instalment in the 'Sherlock Holmes' film franchise said that the period action mystery movie is facing 'issues' amid the Coronavirus pandemic.

The new project will see Robert Downey Jr return as the titular famed British detective and Jude Law reprise his role of Dr

Watson, the partner and confidant of Holmes.

In 2019, the release date of the much-awaited film was pushed back from December 25, 2020, to December 22, 2021.

"Sherlock hit its own issues on and off. That is sort of sitting on the back burner at the moment until it becomes clear where the world is at and what is going to happen," Fletcher said during the 'Celebrity Catch Up Podcast'.

The director is also working on 'The Saint', the reboot to the 1997 action feature for 'Paramount Pictures' and said that both the projects are in limbo due to the ongoing health crisis.

"They are both up against the same dilemma and the same issue that we all (have): How do you get large groups of people together to create something and then shift them all around the world?" questioned the director.

He added, "And what do you do with actors that are in a love scene? It is complicated."

'Sherlock Holmes', the first film in the series, was released in 2009 and its follow-up 'Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows' hit the screens in 2011. Both the films were helmed by Guy Ritchie.