It’s been six long years since season 4 of the popular mystery series titled Sherlock based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories aired. But the show’s writer and creator doesn’t want the fourth season to be the last one and seems to be all set to work on a new season. All Steven Moffat needs is a green signal for the same from Benedict Cumberbatch who starred as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman who portrayed John H. Watson on the screen.
Meanwhile, the Doctor Strange star is currently embroiled in a clamorous controversy as his family faces potential legal drama for having connections to the slave trade that was carried out in Barbados during the 18th and 19th centuries.
Steven Moffat Wants Benedict Cumberbatch to Come Back for Sherlock Season 5
Talking about his debut play titled The Unfriend on the BBC Today program, Steven Moffat reminisced about the time when he served as a writer on Sherlock. The Scottish television writer claimed that he would like nothing more than to have a fifth season of the British crime drama series if only Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman agreed to come back. He even said he’d “start writing tomorrow” if the two actors were on board.
“They’re on to bigger and better things but, Martin and Benedict, ‘please come back?'”
Sherlock‘s fourth season premiered back in 2017 with its finale delivering an appallingly underwhelming performance and earning the “lowest-ever” ratings. After that fiasco, a little talk about a fifth season has been heard of. What’s more, an inside source had also revealed to The Sun that there wasn’t “a huge desire to come back for another season” since Cumberbatch and Freeman weren’t too fond of each other. But those aren’t the only aspects posing a hindrance as the former’s current situation in the spotlight certainly doesn’t seem to be helping either.
Why Sherlock Season 5 Might Not Be in the Cards for Benedict Cumberbatch
Back in the 18th century, the award-winning actor’s family ran a slave plantation in the country of Barbados which resided about 250 slaves. It reportedly even brought in a decent sum to the Cumberbatch family. Now Barbados is seeking reparations from those families who owned slaves back in the day, including Cumberbatch’s. And should they be presented with a legal battle, they would have to pay millions in compensation.
While the English actor has been quite vocal about the transgressions carried out by his ancestors, it looks like he might need to do more than just partake in films about slavery. Clearly, the Academy Award for 12 Years A Slave isn’t going to come in handy in this situation.
So with Cumberbatch making the headlines for such controversies, reprising the witty detective’s role in Sherlock for a fifth season might not be on the top of his to-do list as of now.
Source: Deadline