Kingsman's Colin Firth Is Going From James Bond-Esque Action To An Actual Sherlock Holmes Mystery

Colin Firth in Kingsman: The Secret Service
(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

Sherlock Holmes is one of the most popular fictional characters ever created. There have been numerous Sherlock Holmes movies and TV shows based on the character, and more stories written about him than original author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle ever penned. It’s been a few years since we’ve seen a major Sherlock Holmes adaptation, which means we’re due, and the next one is gearing up and just added Kingsman’s Colin Firth to the cast.

Variety reports that Colin Firth has become the latest to join Prime Video’s Young Sherlock. The series is based on books written by Andrew Lane which follow Holmes starting at the age of 14 years old. The series will see the character as a 19-year-old. Hero Fiennes Tiffin, star of the After romantic drama series, is set to play the young version of the future consulting detective in a series produced and directed by Guy Ritchie.

Who Colin Firth Will Play In Young Sherlock 

Firth will play a character named Sir Bucephalus Hodge. Nothing else about the character is known at this time. Firth joins Joseph Fiennes, the lead's uncle, and Natascha McElhone, who are set to play Sherlock's parents. Zine Tseng is also set to appear as Princess Gulun Shou’an.

Colin Firth has played some iconic English roles in his career. He’s been Mr. Darcy in Pride & Prejudice and played a former King of England in The King's Speech. He was never James Bond, but he did play a secret agent with plenty of gadgets in the Kingsman movies. It’s fitting to see him become part of the Sherlock Holmes world as well.

Young Sherlock Brings Guy Ritchie Back To The Franchise

Young Sherlock will see Hero Fiennes Tiffin reunite with Guy Ritchie, who previously directed him as part of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare cast. It will also see Ritchie’s return to Sherlock Holmes after he directed Robert Downey Jr. in two big-screen Sherlock adventures. A third Sherlock movie in that franchise has been continually teased, but has yet to materialize. If the movie does happen, Guy Ritchie won't direct it.

With a name like Sir Bucephalus Hodge, Colin Firth could be playing anybody. That could easily be the name of some upper-class villain that Sherlock must battle against. However, we also know the new show will deal with a murder mystery at Osford, and since it’s unclear how big a role Firth will play, he could easily be playing the victim who dies at the end of the first episode. He could also be some sort of mentor, as he was in the Kingsman movies.

As a big Sherlock Holmes fan who has read all the original stories, I’m always excited about new takes on the character. The original books the series is based on are officially endorsed by the Conan Doyle estate, so while they might not be officially “canon” for Sherlock Holmes, they are as close to it as we’ll ever get.

Dirk Libbey
Content Producer/Theme Park Beat

CinemaBlend’s resident theme park junkie and amateur Disney historian, Dirk began writing for CinemaBlend as a freelancer in 2015 before joining the site full-time in 2018. He has previously held positions as a Staff Writer and Games Editor, but has more recently transformed his true passion into his job as the head of the site's Theme Park section. He has previously done freelance work for various gaming and technology sites. Prior to starting his second career as a writer he worked for 12 years in sales for various companies within the consumer electronics industry. He has a degree in political science from the University of California, Davis.  Is an armchair Imagineer, Epcot Stan, Future Club 33 Member.