Young Sheldon is dead. Long live Young Sherlock.

With one Young character in the grave, Guy Ritchie is heading Holmes

Young Sheldon is dead. Long live Young Sherlock.
Child wearing a deerstalker hat
Photo: New Africa

Guy Ritchie is returning to 221B Baker Street. Nearly 15 years since he played A Game Of Shadows, Ritchie is set to direct and executive produce a new Young Sherlock Holmes series for Prime Video, per Variety. The eight-episode series, based on Andy Lane’s novels, will star Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the socially awkward master detective.

Ritchie, who has seemingly become the most prolific director in Hollywood, can get any project greenlit, no matter how Ungentlemanly. Since his 2019 remake of Aladdin made a billion dollars, Ritchie’s output has been constant, leaning into his love of gangsters in bespoke suits, war movies, and the word “gentleman.” As if to prove his commitment to all three, this year, he released The Ministry Of Ungentlemanly Warfare, an underperformer that didn’t make a dent in Ritchie’s rapid release schedule, and a spin-off series of his film The Gentleman for Netflix.

Ritchie has already directed two Sherlock movies, starring Robert Downey Jr. as Holmes, Jude Law as Watson, and Rachel McAdams as “The Woman” Irene Adler. For his latest, Ritchie cast Ungentlemanly star Hero Fiennes Tiffin as a 19-year-old Sherlock—and yes, that’s Fiennes as in Ralph and Joseph Fiennes, Hero’s uncles. Hero’s mother is an English film director, Martha Fiennes, who directed her brother Ralph in Onegin. It’s always nice to see people join the family business.

Ritchie says this Sherlock will be an “exhilarating new version” of the story “everyone thinks they know.” He promises to “crack open” the character, see “what makes him tick, and learn how he becomes the genius we all love.” We can only assume this means there will be a scene where someone says, “No shit, Sherlock,” and inspires Jaden Holmes to change his name to Sherlock.

Andy Lane has been writing Young Sherlock novels since 2010, and his latest installment hit shelves in 2015.

 
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