Sherlock Creator Reveals the "Problem" With Reviving Series

Steven Moffat says it all comes down to the series' stars.

By Nicole Drum

BBC's Sherlock, an adaptation of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes books, remains a deeply loved series more than seven years after its conclusion with fans still hoping for a reunion or a revival of the series. However, while fans remain hopeful they'll see the series return, co-creator Steven Moffat says there's one main roadblock: the series' stars. Speaking with Metro.co.uk, Moffat said that he'd love to do more Sherlock but Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman might be a harder sell.

"As I've said before, I'll do it tomorrow. I mean, Arthur Conan Doyle wrote 60 novels," Moffat said. "It's not a format that will wear out. Sherlock Holmes will never wear out. I'd love to do it again. I would absolutely love to again. I'm easy, but you need to get the two big stars. That's the problem."

Co-creator Mark Gatiss has made similar comments, telling Deadline earlier this year that getting everyone together to make a reunion film is difficult.

"We'd like to make a film but trying to get everyone together is very difficult," Gatiss told Deadline, adding that if you want a definitive answer, you would have to ask the show's stars, Benedict Cumberbatch (Sherlock Holmes) and Martin Freeman (John Watson). 

"People think you can just wave a wand," Gatiss added when asked about potential a timeline for a Sherlock film. "It's incredibly difficult to get people interested and get films made. I remember talking to Edgar Wright about Ant-Man, into which he put eight years of his life and then didn't make it. Eight years is not short of a decade."

While Moffat's comments indicate that the actors might be the main thing standing in the way of a Sherlock revival, in 2021 Cumberbatch himself has said "never say never" about a Sherlock return, though he did think that maybe more time needs to pass.

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"Oh look, I still say never say never," Cumberbatch said. "You know, I really like that character… it's just, the circumstances need to be right and I think maybe it's too soon now to see it have another life. I think, wonderful as it is, it's had its moment for now. But that's not to say it wouldn't have an iteration in the future."

What is Sherlock About?

Based on the Sherlock Holmes detective stories by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock was a modern telling of the classic detective tales. The series starred Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Doctor John Watson. The series also starred Andrew Scott, Louise Brealey, Una Stubbs, and Rupert Graves. It was created by Moffat and Mark Gatiss, the latter of which appeared in the series as Holmes's elder brother, Mycroft.  The series debuted on July 25, 2010, and ran for four seasons for a total of 13 episodes, concluding January 15, 2017. 

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