‘Sherlock’ Needs to Become a “Superlative Version” of Itself for Benedict Cumberbatch’s Return
Benedict Cumberbatch has repeatedly teased his desire to return to Sherlock in season 5, but on one and pretty challenging condition. Here’s what the actor recently said about potentially reprising the iconic role.
BBC’s hit mystery crime drama series Sherlock has remained on a hiatus for almost ten years by now, though Benedict Cumberbatch doesn’t rule out the series’ possible return with season 5 — which, according to the actor, must get to a completely new level to make him reprise the role.
The series, the latest season of which premiered back in 2017, follows Arthur Conan Doyle’s famous characters in modern-day London to the point where it all seems like a pretty solid happy ending.
However, at the same time the final scene might have also hinted at something more coming for Cumberbatch’s Sherlock and Martin Freeman’s John Watson in new episodes.
Despite the show degrading by the time season 4 arrived, many wouldn’t mind another instalment anyway — though for this to happen Benedict would need Sherlock to fix its main issue.
Benedict Cumberbatch Says Sherlock’ Season 5 Needs to Be More Than “What We’ve Already Achieved”
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It’s still likely that the hit show’s return would cause a wave of raving reactions even among those who hated Sherlock’s season 4, but Cumberbatch says a potential season 5’s writing is now everything that matters.
“It would take it to be better than it ever was. You leave them or yourselves wanting more. There's always that itch to scratch, but I think it would have to be the superlative version of what we've already achieved”, the actor revealed in an interview with Variety, also adding jokingly that, apparently, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss would need to find “a lot of money” to pay him for the return.
‘Sherlock’ Fans Are Siding With Benedict Cumberbatch After Revelations About Season 5
Even with Sherlock’s season 4 ending on a slightly indefinite note, many fans agreed with the actor who stated that the quality of writing would be the first thing to consider when the show’s season 5 is brought up again.
“And this is why I hope it never comes back. A big reason it started going downhill is that it became more and more outlandish and ridiculous over time, because whenever Moffat gets an ounce of success, he always feels the need to outdo himself, and the plot gets crazier and crazier. If he brings it back, it’s just going to be some crazy spectacle that further tarnishes what it once was (when it was really, really good). Stay busy, Ben. I’ll miss your Sherlock forever, but I’d rather remember him as he was than see him tarnished”, Redditor WingedShadow83 shared in a thread.
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“Benedict makes some good points here. As much as I love Sherlock (and I really do love it), I think it was time for it to end when it did. A one off episode could be fun. I'd pay to see it in theaters. But I don't think we'll get another season”, BrightEyes7742 chimed in.
“As for the quality remarks, I'm sure he is aware of how different Season 4 hits and just wants them to properly come up with a good storyline without flanderizing Sherlock and Watson as much. Also FYI the Rotten Tomatoes ratings of the seasons: Season 1: 93%; Season 2: 94%; Season 3: 91%; Season 4: 54%”, DrVagax stated.
