Guy Ritchie is returning to the world of Sherlock Holmes, though not in the much anticipated and delayed Sherlock Holmes 3. Rather, he will executive produce and direct Young Sherlock, a new mystery series ordered by Amazon Prime Video with Hero Fiennes Tiffin (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare) starring as the young detective.
The show is based on the Young Sherlock Holmes book series by Andy Lane. Young Sherlock is “an irreverent, action-packed origin story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective in an explosive re-imagining of this iconic character. At age 19, Sherlock Holmes is disgraced, raw, unfiltered, and unformed, when he finds himself caught up in a murder mystery at Oxford University which threatens his freedom. Diving into his first-ever case with a wild lack of discipline, Sherlock manages to unravel a globe-trotting conspiracy that will change his life forever.”
Young Sherlock is written and showrun by Matthew Parkhill (Deep State) with Ritchie directing the eight episodes of its first season. Ritchie and Parkhill will executive produce.
“In Young Sherlock we’re going to see an exhilarating new version of the detective everyone thinks they know in a way they’ve never imagined before. We’re going to crack open this enigmatic character, find out what makes him tick, and learn how he becomes the genius we all love,” Ritchie said.
“This exciting, new chapter about one of the world’s best-known literary characters, will delight our global customers with its captivating storytelling” said Vernon Sanders, Amazon MGM’s head of television. “With the brilliant creative team, led by Guy Ritchie and Matthew Parkhill, we will explore untold mysteries of how young Sherlock found his way to a life of truth-seeking.”
Tiffin was recently seen in Ritchie’s World War II action thriller The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare opposite Henry Cavill, who coincidentally plays Sherlock Holmes in Netflix’s Enola Holmes films. He’ll be seen next in Above The Below, Picture This and Fackham Hall.
Sherlock Holmes has been an iconic character in pop culture ever since he was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in 1887’s A Study in Scarlet. Many films, TV series, books and other media have been made with the character, with some recent series like Sherlock and Elementary reimagining him in the modern day while others like Enola Holmes and the upcoming Sherlock & Daughter and Watsonfocusing on his family and friends.
Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes, starring Robert Downey Jr. as the famed detective and Jude Law as his faithful friend and partner Dr. John Watson, was released in 2009 and became a box office success. Ritchie directed the sequel Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows in 2011 which saw the pair face off against Sherlock’s archnemesis Professor Moriarty, a battle which seemingly claimed Sherlock’s life.
A third film has been in development hell ever since, the victim of Downey’s busy Marvel schedule, rewrites and the pandemic. Ritchie will not direct however, with Dexter Fletcher (Rocketman) helming and writing the script with Joe Penhall and Downey, however the project has had little in the way of updates since it was first announced back in 2019.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
