There was a time when Sherlock was on top of the world. Regarding the most interesting Sherlock TV shows or movies, the U.K. series, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, was one of the best.
However, it's been a decent amount of time since the last season of Sherlock was released. Season 4, which came out in 2017, has long been seen as the show's conclusion. Sherlock was never technically cancelled, but Season 5 has not been confirmed yet, and there are reasons for that, and if you’re wondering if a Sherlock Season 5 might happen, here is what’s been said.
What The Creators Have Said
There’s actually plenty that the creators themselves have said about returning to Sherlock, things that point towards something happening in the future:
Steven Moffat Would “Write Tomorrow” If The Main Stars Returned
The first thing we have to talk about is that Steven Moffat, the co-creator of Sherlock, has openly said that he would start "writing today" if both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman wanted to return to their roles in the show.
In an interview that Moffat did with BBC Today (via The Independent) in January 2023, he said that he would begin working on Season 5 if the two main actors were able to return to the roles despite their hectic schedules:
“Look, I'll start writing Sherlock tomorrow if Benedict and Martin will show up, frankly…Sadly, they've moved on to bigger and better things and left us behind, crying. But Benedict, Martin – please come back?”
Moffat Has Planned A Season 5 – Years Ago
In 2014, Steven Moffat said that Season 5 was planned out simultaneously with Season 4. At a BAFTA screening for the Season 3 finale, "His Last Vow" (via The Independent), he revealed that both he and Mark Gatiss, the other creator, had worked on both series (seasons) 4 and 5 for the show:
Rather excitingly, Mark (Gatiss) and I, for no particular reason, just started plotting out what we could do in the future. We plotted out the whole of series four and five. The ideas we had that day, I thought, were the best we've ever had. So we have got plans – but our plans don't tend to be 'Let's blow up the world or cast the most famous person in the world', they tend to be 'What exciting twists and turns can we add to this?' and I think we've got some crackers!
It’s been about ten years since this interview, and no fifth season has been announced, but it’s always nice to know that they do have a Season 5 planned out regardless. Maybe one day we’ll get to see it.
What The Stars Have Said
It’s all fine and dandy to hear the creators speak about Season 5, but what have the main stars of Sherlock said about returning to the franchise?
Benedict Cumberbatch Has Said “Never Say Never”
Benedict Cumberbatch, who won a Primetime Emmy for playing Sherlock Holmes, said in an interview with Esquire in November 2021 that he says "never say never" to returning to Sherlock for a fifth season. The circumstances "need to be right" for him to come back:
Oh look, I still say never say never. 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 another iteration in the future.
Benedict Cumberbatch has been extremely busy since Sherlock ended its fourth season in 2017. Not only has he taken on the role of Doctor Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (playing the sorcerer in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), but Cumberbatch has done so many other great movies since. Besides that, he also starred in his own miniseries, Eric, on Netflix, becoming one of the best shows to binge on Netflix. He’s also appeared in movies like The End We Start From, The Book of Clarence, and more, and is set to appear in a new film called The Roses.
Martin Freeman Could Return If There’s A “Good Script”
You can't have Sherlock without Watson. In any iteration of the famous franchise, Watson is always there to help the man, and Martin Freeman was the perfect casting to go with Benedict Cumberbatch. The good thing is that Freeman says he would return to – provided there was a "good script."
In an interview that Freeman did on The Jonathan Ross Show in November 2022, he revealed that the "door is never shut" on Season 5 of Sherlock, and that he would come back if there were a good story for them to tell:
I don't know. Personally, I'm a fan of things being finite. I like things ending. I think it's natural for things to end…but I'm also a sucker for a good idea and a good script. If something comes up that persuades us all – it would have to be us all – then my door would always be open.
Martin Freeman has also been recently successful over the last few years. He too joined the MCU to play Everett Ross, and he's appeared in many other movies and shows, including A Christmas Carol, The Operative, Ode to Joy, and the TV shows Angelyne and Breeders, so he's been quite busy. He even co-starred in Miller's Girl with Jenna Ortega in 2024, and he also had a role in the Marvel TV show, Secret Invasion, a role he reprised from the MCU.
Could There Be A Movie?
The last thing we should mention is that Sherlock Season 5 could become a movie if given the opportunity. I know, shocking, but hear us out.
In an interview that Mark Gatiss did with The Guardian in July 2023, he was asked why he likes to turn big IPs like Sherlock and Dracula into miniseries rather than films. Gatiss said that he was genuinely interested in making them for TV and that it's hard to get people interested in cinema. Adding that on, he also said he would "love" to make a Sherlock movie:
People think you can just wave a wand. 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. Eight years is not short of a decade. Add a few of those up, you're dead and you've made four films. But, also, we were genuinely interested in making them for T.V. because we love T.V. We would love to make a Sherlock movie. It's the natural thing to do.
While this doesn't confirm that he would do that, it's also a great thing to bring up, considering I have seen plenty of miniseries and shows go that route. And realistically, that might better fit into Cumberbatch and Freeman's busy schedules compared to a multi-episode series, where every episode is decently long. Who knows?
This was even further discussed in an interview with Deadline in April 2024, where Gatiss continued to say that he’d love to make a film to continue the story, but the process of getting “everyone together” is rather “difficult” with the actors’ schedules, and referencing the Ant-Man process yet again:
We’d like to make a film but trying to get everyone together is very difficult…you’ll have to ask Benedict [Cumberbatch] and Martin [Freeman]...people think you can just wave a wand. 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.
In fact, a producer behind Sherlock, Sue Vertue, spoke to Deadline in October 2024 at the Amazon Prime Video Trailblazers event in London about the possibility of continuing the story, saying that there is “a future” for those characters:
We love that show and there is a future for it. One day. Maybe. If everyone wants to do it…i’ve still got the set in storage somewhere, which is probably rotten, to be honest with you,” she added. “It’s just getting everybody aligned, it’s getting the actors to want to do it.
With this said, I’m starting to think a movie might be exactly what we need.
Either way, Sherlock Season 5 still isn't confirmed, and we'll likely have to wait for news for a while, if ever. But until then, I'll rewatch the show and be sad that I'm still waiting – or maybe check out the Robert Downey Jr. Sherlock movies again because I'm craving my mystery flicks.
