With each year that passes, Benedict Cumberbatch’s (and indeed Martin Freeman’s) stock increases that little bit more.
For instance, when co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss blew the lid off their modern reinvention of Sherlock back in 2010, Cumberbatch was less of a Hollywood A-lister and more of a promising up-and-comer, scooping up roles in Atonement, Four Lions, and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. But by the time the show’s fourth season premiered at the start of 2017, the Oscar-nominated Benedict Cumberbatch had cemented his place in Hollywood’s pantheon of acting talent thanks to performances across The Imitation Game, The Hobbit saga, and of course, Marvel’s Doctor Strange.
It’s the latter role, in particular, that has filled Cumberbatch’s slate for years to come, what with his Sorcerer Supreme due to appear in Thor: Ragnarok and next year’s Avengers: Infinity War. All of this has led Sherlock fans to believe that the British thesp has already hung up the famous deerstalker hat for good, in which case “The Final Problem” will be remembered as his last hurrah.
But there’s still reason to be hopeful, according to a report compiled by Inquisitr, which claims that Benedict Cumberbatch may return for the show’s as-yet-unconfirmed fifth season once Moffat and Gatiss have finished resurrecting Dracula for BBC America. That means that, even if Cumberbatch were to return, it wouldn’t be for another couple of years at least, which is something that Andrew Scott (Moriarty) echoed in a previous interview.
In case you missed it, here’s what the actor said a few weeks back:
I don’t think there’s another series of Sherlock coming soon. I think another General Election would come first! We’re not doing [Sherlock] for another couple of years. Everybody got quite busy, you know? You want to keep it fresh and stuff like that.
Sherlock season 5 is still on the cards, then, even if there’s no firm status update from BBC America just yet. This is a show that tends to move at a glacial pace, remember, so don’t expect that radio silence to come to an end anytime soon. We will, as always, keep you posted though as more information begins to emerge.