Tom Hiddleston In ‘Sherlock’? The Picture On Twitter That Started The Rumor [Spoilers]

Rumors are flying all over the internet right now that Tom Hiddleston is slated to be cast in the fourth season of Sherlock. The reason this rumor started was all down to one innocent photo that was posted on Twitter. In this photo, Mark Gatiss, who plays the character Mycroft, and Amanda Abbingdon, who plays Mary, were snapped beside Tom Hiddleston at the San Diego Comic-Con.

However, Mark Gatiss teased fans by leaving a caption on the Twitter photograph that said “blud,” as Romper reported. Could blood mean a family member? Does this mean that Tom Hiddleston will be cast in Sherlock? Does Mark Gatiss realize that Sherlock fans have become crazed over this picture?

Blud. #SDCC16 pic.twitter.com/T2lGDBQMzv

— Mark Gatiss (@Markgatiss) July 25, 2016

Fans right now are fairly convinced that Tom Hiddleston will be playing Sherlock’s brother. And not just any brother, but Sherlock’s third brother. His name is thought to be the very illustrious-sounding Sherrinford. Romper note that this was what Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wanted to call the lead detective before he finally chose Sherlock in the end.

Sherlock’s brother Mycroft also mentions him when he tells Sherlock in Season 3 to be wary of “outbursts of brotherly compassion,” and concludes by saying, “You know what happened to the other one.” Could this other one be Tom Hiddleston as Sherrinford in Sherlock?

So far, no one in the cast of Sherlock has confirmed or denied rumors that Tom Hiddleston will be in the fourth season. But it is known that Mark Gatiss would very much like for Tom Hiddleston to be in the show, as the International Business Times note. Gatiss is reported to have admitted that it would be quite difficult to get Hiddleston on Sherlock, however, mainly due to Tom’s busy work schedule.

In reference to the fact that Sherrinford was never in any of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s novels, Mark Gatiss pointed out that this doesn’t necessarily mean that characters and scenes not in the books won’t find their way onto the television screen.

“Just because it’s in the stories doesn’t mean it’ll happen in the series because there’s an awful lot of changes and an awful lot of places to go and things to do.”

Sherlock‘s co-creator Steven Moffat also said that Season 4 was going to have a very different feel than previous seasons.

“This season it’ll be darker. We’re going to try to take it somewhere we’ve never seen before, and I don’t mean outer space. It will be a challenging place to go. We always start with a re-introduction that builds toward a darker climax, we might just be going darker from the outset. We got a very good set of ideas.”

As both Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat have said that Season 4 will be darker and full of changes, does this mean that we can expect a new character like Sherrinford, played by Tom Hiddleston, in Sherlock? Did Mark Gatiss’ Twitter photo represent Mark’s dream to cast Tom Hiddleston in the show? Was it a fun clue for fans or are Tom and Mark friends who both just happened to be at San Diego Comic-Con at the same time?

We may have another hint as to whether Tom Hiddleston will make his way onto Sherlock. On the New Year’s Day Season 4 premiere, in one of the show’s last scenes, fans saw Mycroft going home to find a note saying “13th” on it. He then picks up the phone and says, “Put me through to Sherrinford, please.”

So there we go. Sherrinford was actually referenced, which means that there will be a new character on the show. But will this character be Sherlock’s ubiquitous brother? And will Tom Hiddleston be playing him in Sherlock after all?

[Featured Image by Danny Moloshok/AP Images]