Sherlock Holmes 3 and BBC's Sherlock season 5 have both been in limbo for quite a while, yet the former sounds much more exciting than the latter for several reasons. The early 2010s were massive for SherlockHolmes in terms of screen adaptations. Guy Ritchie's SherlockHolmes premiered in 2009 starring Robert Downey Jr. as the titular character and Jude Law as John Watson. A few months later, Sherlock season 1 premiered on BBC starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as modern-day versions of Sherlock and Watson. Both adaptations are among the most popular SherlockHolmes projects ever put to screen.

A third Sherlock Holmes movie has been in development for over a decade now, whereas Sherlock season 4 concluded in January 2017. Although there have been major Sherlock adaptations since then, including but not limited to the Enola Holmes movies, both Downey Jr.'s Sherlock features and Cumberbatch's Sherlock series are still very popular. Which is the better version of Sherlock for the 21st century is open for debate, not to mention other adaptations like Elementary. Still, the fact is that Sherlock Holmes 3 and Sherlock season 5 would both generate a lot of interest if they happened.