He said he would start writing a script ‘tomorrow.’
Steven Moffat has urged Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to “please come back” for a fifth series of Sherlock.
The hit BBC drama became one of the biggest shows on TV during its four series and 13-episode run from 2010 to 2017.
Cumberbatch played the role of Sherlock Holmes and Freeman starred as Dr John Watson.
Sherlock provided a modern-day and often much darker spin on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s iconic detective and spawned a fanatical fanbase.
Moffat, 61, said he would “start writing tomorrow” if stars Cumberbatch and Freeman would return.
“They’re on to bigger and better things but, Martin and Benedict, ‘please come back?’,” joked Moffat while promoting his debut West End play The Unfriend on the BBC Today program,
Season four came to an end in 2017 with Sherlock confronting his secret sister Eurus Holmes.
It was a season that (spoilers) kicked off with the death of John’s wife Mary, and featured a number of twists and turns.
However, despite the first three series receiving critical acclaim, the last series was much less well-received by critics and fans alike.
Whilst the first three series have scored in the low 90s on Rotten Tomatoes, the fourth series has a critic score of just 54 per cent and an audience score of 45 per cent.
Although it was never officially confirmed that series four was the last ever for the show, there had been much speculation before the series aired in 2017 about whether it would be the last one for the show.
The work commitments of both Cumberbatch and Freeman were thought to be a reason for the show ending.
After the release of the first Sherlock series in 2010, Freeman landed the role of Bilbo Baggins in Peter Jackson’s Hobbit films, released in 2012, 2013 and 2014. He has since gone on to star in the Black Panther films.
Meanwhile, Cumberbatch starred in the 2014 Oscar-winning film The Imitation Game, and currently plays the role of Dr Strange in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The show’s co-creator Mark Gatiss has previously said that it was “very, very hard to schedule the last series, because of Martin and Benedict’s availability.”
But a fifth series has never been ruled out, and Cumberbatch has previously said that the ‘right script’ could tempt him back.
When asked about a Sherlock return, he told Collider in 2021: “I’m the worst person to ask on this because I never say never, obviously. But I don’t know.
“And I’m the worst person to ask because my slate’s pretty, pretty full at the moment, as is Martin’s and all the other key players involved.
“So, who knows? Maybe one day, if the script’s right. And I say ‘the script,’ maybe it could be a film rather than the series. Who knows?”
Come on guys, make it happen.
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