Sherlock Season 4 Promo Teases Classic Villain's Return

12/29/2016 12:37 pm EST

Sherlock season 4 premieres on New Years Day, and one of the central mysteries of will be the "return" of a classic series villain, who was supposedly dead.

Needless to say: SPOILER ALERT if you're not caught up on Sherlock!

As you can see in the teaser above, titled, "Did You Miss Me?" it seems as though Andrew Scott's Jim Moriarty is not as dead as Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) and John Watson (Martin Freeman) would have hoped.

The teaser takes a different angle on the final moments of the season 3 finale ("His Last Vow"), showing how Moriarty's face takes over every television in England, with the cryptic words, "Did you miss me?"

Sherlock showrunners have teased that Moriarty is still very much dead (as seen in the holiday special), leading to competing fan theories that the villain either faked his death (like Sherlock did) in the season 2 finale "The Reichenback Fall" - or that Moriarty's likeness is being used by season 4 villain, Culverton Smith (Toby Jones).

More Sherlock: Sherlock Co-Creator Reveals His Ideal Ending/Sherlock Stars Split After 15 Years / Sherlock Season 4 Trailer / Sherlock Photos Introduce Baby Watson / Sherlock Season 4 Episode Titles / Toby Jones To Play Sherlock's Scariest Villain Yet / Sherlock: The Abominable Bride Collectible Figures

Sherlock Season 4 is set to debut on January 1, 2017.

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