‘Sherlock’ Season 4 Trailer Shows Dark Times For Holmes And Watson: Moriarty’s Posthumous Return


BBC One has released the first Sherlock Season 4 trailer at the ongoing Comic-con in San Diego. The trailer shows Sherlock flummoxed and scared about Moriarty‘s possible return that will wreak havoc and put the lives of many in danger.

Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis have created this modern era adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes. Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson will face Moriarity again, played by Andrew Scott. Mark Gatiss portrays Sherlock’s gravely concerned elder brother Mycroft Holmes. Amanda Abbington plays Watson’s wife, Mary. The new characters include a new villain played by Toby Jones.

Cumberbatch surprised his fans with his presence at the Sherlock panel at the Comic-Von along with Abbington, Moffat, and Gattis. After the panel, three mysterious clues were revealed – Thatcher, Smith, and Sherrinford.

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Sherlock Season 4 will be the darkest as stated by Benedict Cumberbatch, Steven Moffat, and Mark Gatiss at the San Diego Comic-con. [Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images]
John Watson’s fictional blog covers a post about six Thatchers which drops a mention about Maggie Thatcher. Sherlock had figured out the password “Maggie” of the project H.O.U.N.D. in Season 2.

In the last episode of Season 3, while expressing his concern about Sherlock, Mycroft refers to their elder brother indirectly. That brother might appear in Season 4 as Sherrinford Holmes.

Finally, Smith refers to Culverton Smith, a planter and well-known resident of Sumatra from The Dying Detective. Toby Jones will play Culverton Smith in Season 4, according to Screen Rant.

“You get a real thrill reading each new script and it’s great to see a real evolution of all the characters especially in S4.”

After Season 3, Moffat talked about the slim chances of Sherlock going beyond Season 4, mostly because Cumberbatch was busy with his upcoming projects, Marvel’s Doctor Strange being one of them. Meanwhile, Freeman was shooting for Captain America: Civil War and other projects. But both actors had been signed for Season 4 and Season 5 back in 2014, according to IB Times.

That did concern a lot of fans who ended up questioning Moffat whether Season 4 would be the last of Sherlock. At this year’s Comic-Con, Moffat jokingly said there will be a sixth season too.

Moriarty shot himself in the mouth at the end of the Season 2. In Season 3’s last episode, when Sherlock was aboard a plane for his exile out of London, a video of Moriarity left him aghast. That cliffhanger planted a seed of the mastermind criminal’s possible return.

In “The Abominable Bride,” Sherlock and Watson tell a tale to explain how Moriarity used a mirror trick to fake his own death. Later, Sherlock told Watson that he knew what the masterminded criminal had planned to do next. So don’t get your hopes up to see Moriarty for his return will mostly be posthumous.

Sherlock came across as a smug detective who loved to show off his intelligence in Season 1. However, the story arc continued to grow dark due to the course of events. The creators believe that Season 4 will be the darkest one so far. We couldn’t agree more, especially after looking at the new trailer.

The Season 4 trailer shows quite a lot of action, explosions, and people cocking guns. It also mentions that Sherlock’s demons will return and he will have to face them. While Jones’ maniacal laugh is a bit disturbing, Mrs. Hudson calling Mycroft “a reptile” shows a new shade of her character. The previous seasons did pack a dose of humor and wit, but either was surprisingly absent in the trailer. However, the creators do promise that humor has been added in Season 4 as well. Overall, the trailer does resemble a typical Hollywood action movie teaser.

The Sherlock team will shoot an important scene next week and the filming of Season 4 will finish in two weeks. BBC One aims to release Sherlock Season 4 in early 2017 in the UK while PBS will be airing it in the U.S. region. However, no specific date has been announced yet.

[Image via Hartswood Films]

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