Back in June, Sherlock‘s Martin Freeman sent the show’s fans into a flurry of excitement when he revealed some rather important news: the next instalment of the popular series would be a one-off Christmas special. Now, granted, unleashing this during the summer might have implied that it was headed to screens this coming December, but alas, we’ve got a whole year to wait for Watson and Sherlock’s next jaunt.
To tide millions of fans over, the BBC has graciously debuted two images via its Twitter feed this morning. And they’re rather unusual. For most Sherlock die-hards, it’s a given that the next season of the show will carry on the story left off in season three with the crime-fighting duo pitted against the dastardly Moriarty. So imagine the general feeling of flabbergastedness caused by these two new pics.
#221back #Sherlock #notkidding pic.twitter.com/iTfDqfJI0R
— BBC One (@BBCOne) November 25, 2014
This is what we’ve been doing today. Later on a pic of #Sherlock and John as they’ll appear in the Special. #221back pic.twitter.com/bdFIhcRMsW
— BBC One (@BBCOne) November 25, 2014
The first shows Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Watson (Freeman) kitted out in some serious period attire. Does this mean that they’re heading back in time? Will it be a true “special” in that it won’t form a part of the show’s previously-established canon? According to the quippy BBC hashtag #notkidding, we can rule out a photo session prank. The second is a shot of the shooting script for the episode, which is crazy to contemplate considering we won’t even see it until next year.
Joining Cumberbatch and Freeman for the seasonal special is Amanda Abbington as Watson’s wife and series showrunner, Steven Moffat. The episode is expected to shoot in January 2015, depending on the hectic schedules of its leading cast, after which it will be followed up by a new season. Well, the BBC hasn’t officially termed it “season four,” but releasing word of three new Sherlock episodes suggests exactly that.
