Benedict Cumberbatch Addresses 'End Of Sherlock' Rumors

Sherlockians, it's time to heave a huge sigh of relief. Over the past weeks, fans have been teased with the possibility of the show's fourth season being its last. Reports alleged that Benedict Cumberbatch has hinted the series' end during press junkets for Doctor Strange, but those rumors appear to be bunk at best.

In a recent interview with USA Today, the actor denied rumors which said Sherlock would end with its fourth season. Nodding to the recent misquote of his, Cumberbatch said he had "talked to a journalist about [Sherlock] who tried to make something sensational out of it and create clickbait."

"It was a complete distortion of what I actually said which was '[Season 4] was the last one for now.' There's a big difference, and he just went 'It's the last one' and left a paragraph hanging in the air," he stressed.

So, there you have it. Sherlock won't necessarily be the end-all, be-all of the series. Cumberbatch went on to say that he and his co-stars "love doing the show" but that they all have other projects they're working on.

The actor explained, "All I'll say about it is that we're all very busy. We're all doing other things now, and you have to see the fourth season to see why it's not going to happen in the same regularity as it has been happening....When it's right - and if it's right - we'll do more."

He also took time to defend himself against future misquotes and said he would not reveal the end of Sherlock in a magazine feature. "I'm not going to make an announcement through a magazine that we're not doing any more of that show; It's not my responsibility to do that. [The misquote] was a bit of irresponsible journalism," he said.

Earlier this month, fans began fretting over Sherlock's future once a GQ interview with Cumberbatch went live. The article quoted the actor as saying the fourth season felt like the "end of an era."

"[Season 4] goes to a place where it will be pretty hard to follow on immediately," Cumberbatch said. "We never say never on the show. I'd love to revisit it, I'd love to keep revisiting it, I stand by that. But in the immediate future we all have things that we want to crack on with and we've made something very complete as it is, so I think we'll just wait and see. The idea of never playing him again is really galling."

However, fans can now rest assured that Sherlock won't end so suddenly. The immediate future may not see the series churn out any new episodes, but Cumberbatch is clearly open to reprising his sleuthing character should the right opportunity arise.

Sherlock recently wrapped production on its fourth season. There's no set release date for the season to air, but many expect it to hit in early 2017.

[H/T] USA Today