It’s been six years since Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman last graced our screens as Sherlock Holmes and Doctor John Watson, but fans are still holding out hope for season 5. It turns out that series co-creator Steven Moffat is also anxious to bring the series back, he’s just waiting on the two stars to return.
While speaking on BBC Today, Steven Moffat said that he would “start writing [Sherlock season 5] tomorrow” if Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman would return. “They’re on to bigger and better things but, Martin and Benedict, please come back?,” Moffat said. Since the debut of Sherlock back in 2010, Cumberbatch and Freeman have indeed moved on to bigger projects. Both actors have joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, with Cumberbatch playing Doctor Strange and Freeman playing Everett K. Ross. The pair also appeared in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, with Freeman playing Bilbo Baggins and Cumberbatch playing Smaug and Sauron. Over the course of four seasons, there have been twelve episodes of Sherlock plus one special.
Steven Moffat has previously said that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman “were very loyal to that show over a long while when it was out when it definitely became their lowest paying job.” Although Moffat and others are eager to return, they “need our leading men and, quite understandably, they may well feel they’ve done their time.” Freeman has also said that the immense expectations from fans has impacted the fun of the job. “To be absolutely honest, it [was] kind of impossible,” Freeman said. “Sherlock became the animal that it became immediately. Whereas even with [the U.K. version of] The Office, it was a slow burn. But Sherlock was frankly notably high quality from the outset. And when you start [that high] it’s pretty hard to maintain that. Being in that show, it is a mini-Beatles thing. People’s expectations, some of it’s not fun anymore. It’s not a thing to be enjoyed, it’s a thing of: ‘You better f—ing do this, otherwise, you’re a c—.’ That’s not fun anymore.“
Would you still like to see Sherlock season 5 or has the series run its course?