Young Sherlock creator explains why series isn’t a prequel to Guy Ritchie's films with Robert Downey Jr
"This has to be a separate beast."
When Young Sherlock was first announced, many fans thought they were finally getting an extension to the universe established by Guy Ritchie back in 2009's Sherlock Holmes – only, in reverse.
As fans continue to wait for the long-rumoured and delayed third film in that franchise, which stars Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, Ritchie's return to the world of Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic detective seemed like the perfect time to expand that series in some form.
However, it later became clear that while Ritchie is an executive producer and director on the new series, charting the early years of the detective, the series is not a return to that continuity.
Now, while speaking exclusively with Radio Times alongside Moriarty star Dónal Finn, the show's creator Matthew Parkhill, has explained why the series is not a direct prequel to those films – and revealed an early conversation regarding that did happen.
Parkhill said, when asked whether the series was ever imagined as a more direct prequel: "No. That was a very early conversation with Guy that I had, and we were adamant that he's not a young Robert Downey Jr – that’s it's a different Sherlock, a different world, different universe. Just because that is so well established.
"They're beautiful films, but we didn't want to do a sort of prequel to those films. We wanted to do an origin story of the Conan Doyle Sherlock. So yeah, that was something we discussed and we were like, 'No, this has to be a separate beast.'"
Young Sherlock stars Hero Fiennes Tiffin as the title character, while Finn, Natascha McElhone, Zine Tseng, Max Irons, Joseph Fiennes and Colin Firth all also play key roles.
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A third film starring Downey was at one point going to be directed by Dexter Fletcher, taking over for Ritchie.
In 2023, Fletcher confirmed that the film was "not currently" in development, and that the Covid pandemic "threw everyone to the winds".
"These things are so delicate that now trying to pull all those threads back together to a meaningful place is proving to be difficult," Fletcher told CinemaBlend. "I'm busy. He's busy. People are busy. It's a big old thing. And I haven't spoken to [Downey] for a while, so I don’t know where his appetite for it is.
"I'm sure it's there, but how it fits in his plan… because plans have changed. I can't answer to that. If it came back, I would love to do it. I'd love to see it. Because the script was brilliant. And [Downey]'s a genius, to my mind."
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Authors
James Hibbs is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering programmes across both streaming platforms and linear channels. He previously worked in PR, first for a B2B agency and subsequently for international TV production company Fremantle. He possesses a BA in English and Theatre Studies and an NCTJ Level 5 Diploma in Journalism.
