Following the success of Netflix's Enola Holmes, the streaming giant is reportedly planning to continue expanding on the Sherlock Holmes mythos, this time going back to the origins of the famous literary hero for a project titled Sherlock Junior. The movie will follow younger versions of both the genius sleuth and his sidekick Dr. John Watson in the modern-day, with the pair meeting for the first time and embarking on their first of many adventures together.
A new report has even revealed the synopsis for Sherlock Junior; "Sherlock Junior follows a modern day young John Watson as he links up with British expatriate and new neighbor, Sherlock Holmes, to solve the mystery behind a strange disappearance and a witch's curse on their town. Building a team of fellow child sleuths, they must work together to evade a number of dangerous thieves if they have any chance at finding the treasure she left behind."
According to the report, the project is something that Netflix has been considering for some time, and has recently hired Ehren Kruger, who recently wrote Dumbo, Transformers: Age of Extinction, and Top Gun: Maverick, to write the script alongside screenwriter Matt Kuzma.
Picking up with a younger version of an iconic character is not out of the ordinary, with shows such The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles proving that it can be done effectively. However, Sherlock Holmes aficionados are likely to take issue with the proposed modern-day setting, something which was handled well in Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat's Sherlock starring Benedict Cumberbatch.
Netflix has recently seen great success with the Holmes family thanks to their adaptation of Enola Holmes. Based on the mystery-thriller book series of the same name, written by Nancy Springer, Enola Holmes chronicles the adventures of Sherlock Holmes' younger sister Enola, who, when her mother disappears, decides to become a super-sleuth in her own right. Running away to London where she establishes a clandestine private detective career specializing in missing person investigations, Enola must also keep ahead of her brothers who are determined to capture and force her to conform to their expectations.
Should Sherlock Junior falter, Netflix clearly has a franchise in Enola Holmes, with director Harry Bradbeer recently declaring his eagerness to continue far beyond just one sequel. "Well, I hope I'd have the energy for that, yeah," Bradbeer said in an interview last week. "That would be amazing. Someone's going to have the energy for it! It'd be wonderful to get five more movies out of this scene. I do think they're extraordinary stories to tell, and what a period. As you go forward, things like that three-wheeled car - which was a lovely thing we discovered - to find our characters playing on some of the new contraptions, at some point in the early 20th century. Of course, we get airplanes and the Wright brothers. Who knows what other challenges are going to come out of this really restless, productive period."
Sherlock Junior does not yet have a release date or even official confirmation at this time. Enola Holmes meanwhile is now available on Netflix. This comes to us from Whats on Netflix.