Sherlock Still Has a Chance: Benedict Cumberbatch Weighs In on a Potential New Season
The actor is not opposed to taking part in the revival, but he does have his own conditions.
Sherlock Holmes has become a cult figure in the detective genre, and has even entered the Guinness World Records as the most filmed character — isn't that an indicator of worldwide love?
A new milestone in the Holmes universe was BBC’s Sherlock, the first season of which was released 15 years ago.
Despite its huge fanbase, Sherlock only ran for four seasons. But it seems that the story of the brilliant detective played by Cumberbatch is not finished. At least, the actor himself does not completely rule out the possibility that he will return to this image.
Benedict Cumberbatch Willing to Return to Sherlock on Two Conditions
In an interview with Variety, Benedict admitted that in order for him to return to the role, he will need “a lot of money,” and then he developed his idea of how the new season should look like for him to join it:
“It would take it to be better than it ever was. [...] There’s always that itch to scratch, but I think it would have to be the superlative version of what we’ve already achieved.”
We can only hope that one day Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss will put all their talent into a new Sherlock script, and that it will be so good that Cumberbatch cannot refuse.
Sherlock Had Only Four Seasons for a Variety of Reasons
Although Sherlock ended rather unexpectedly for fans, a number of factors contributed to this decision. One of them is that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have moved on to the big screen.
Joining the Marvel cinematic universe, Cumberbatch played Doctor Strange and Freeman played agent Everett K. Ross in Black Panther.
In addition, Cumberbatch received an Oscar nomination during this time for the drama The Power of the Dog – the second one after the nomination for his role in The Imitation Game in 2014.
Showrunners Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis also moved on to other projects. The former was the showrunner of the fantasy series Doctor Who from 2010 to 2017, while Gattis mainly helmed productions in British theaters.
In addition, the ratings for the fourth season were lower than expected. On average, the series attracted more than 10 million viewers on the BBC alone. However, according to The Guardian, the finale was watched by only 5.9 million people – the worst viewership figure in Sherlock history.