We guessed this might be the case when Robert Downey Jr. bailed on Cowboys & Aliens yesterday, and now Entertainment Weekly confirmed that it's true-- Downey Jr. abandoned Cowboys & Aliens because Sherlock Holmes 2 will be filming this summer.

The movie hasn't been officially greenlit by Warner Bros., but as its global box office creeps toward $300 million, screenwriters Kieran and Michele Mulroney are completing the script and the cast is being rounded up for a June start date. Unfortunately for Downey Jr., that's exactly when Cowboys & Aliens planned to start production, so his pal Jon Favreau will have to find someone other than Tony Stark to fill in the lead role.

I completely loved Sherlock Holmes and was perfectly happy when the last five minutes of the movie were essentially a bid for a sequel. I'll be looking forward to this one in two years just as much as I'm feverishly anticipating Iron Man 2.