Is Benedict Cumberbatch returning for a new Sherlock movie? Viral poster debunked

On May 3, 2025, a Facebook account named YODA BBY ABY teased fans with news that Benedict Cumberbatch was set to reprise his role as the legendary detective in the upcoming film, Sherlock: The Empty House.

As per the post, the film's plot revolves around Sherlock and Watson fighting against a modern-day sniper. It is slated to release in July 2025 on BBC and BBC America.

However, a closer look at the post makes it clear that the news is fake, as the Facebook account describes itself as showcasing 100% satire and fake news. Hence, Benedict Cumberbatch is not returning for a new Sherlock movie yet.

Benedict Cumberbatch rose to prominence as Sherlock

Benedict Cumberbatch starred in the mystery thriller series Sherlock for four seasons that aired from July 25, 2010, to January 15, 2017. It aired on BBC One in the United Kingdom and PBS in the United States. Each season comprised three episodes, with a special episode that aired in January 2016.

All four seasons of the show take place in the present timeline. Moreover, the special episode is set in Victorian times, like the book series it is based on.

Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat co-created and co-wrote the series, which is based on the Sherlock Holmes books written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. In addition to Benedict Cumberbatch, the series featured Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson, Andrew Scott as Jim Moriarty, Una Stubbs as Mrs. Hudson, Mark Gatiss as Mycroft Holmes, Louise Brealey as Molly Hooper, and Rupert Graves as Detective Inspector Greg Lestrade, among others.

In July 2010, the Oscar-nominated actor described his character as follows to The Guardian:

"There's a great charge you get from playing him, because of the volume of words in your head and the speed of thought—you really have to make your connections incredibly fast. He is one step ahead of the audience and of anyone around him with normal intellect. They can't quite fathom where his leaps are taking him."

Moreover, in 2014, Benedict Cumberbatch received the award for 'Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie' for his portrayal in the season 3 finale episode, His Last Vow.

Is Sherlock returning for season 5?

In December 2024, Steven Moffat told SFX via ComicBook that he would be interested in doing a fifth season of Sherlock sometime in the future. He said:

"We would happily do it again and I hope someday that we do. It seems perverse not to.... You make enough shows in your lifetime that no one gives a flying one about, so it’s nice to have one that people are passionate about. It’s almost presumptuous, almost arrogant, not to do it again. But there are no hard plans, none at all."

He also shared plans of his vision for the series and its lead characters by saying:

"(We) actually do have an idea. The idea is basically go back and do it again—but slightly more specific than that… It would be nice to see them just a little bit older, because it was always very foregrounded in our version that they were younger, let alone the fact that they were updated."

He continued:

"It'd be quite nice to see them at more of a Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke age, a bit more Rathbone and Bruce. I think that would be lovely. Now we can see the more famously middle-aged version."

Moreover, Benedict Cumberbatch told Vogue in December 2024 that he would love to return to the iconic role as an old man, if the show's quality could be maintained like the first two seasons, which earned over 90% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes each.

Viewers can catch up on all episodes of Sherlock on Hulu.

About the author

Deepti is an entertainment writer at Sportskeeda. She comes with more than 6 years of experience in the creative writing field and has written extensively for the entertainment and travel domains.

She holds a degree in Chemistry, but her true interest always lay in the creative field. A passion for reading from a young age fueled her desire to make a career change later in life and take up writing as her profession.

Apart from reading, her hobbies include watching movies, listening to music, and going to the beach. In her free time, she can be found looking up reviews of new and old films to add to her watchlist. She also enjoys watching foreign language films that help expand her knowledge base regarding different cultures around the world.

Asked to describe herself, she would promptly mention that she is a die-hard Swiftie and enjoys nothing more than listening to Taylor Swift songs on loop while writing.

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Edited by Divya Singh