‘Sherlock’ Season 5: 3 Reasons Why It’s Not Happening Soon

Sherlock Season 5 has not been canceled yet by BBC, leaving fans to hope for more of the Sherlock and Watson tandem. But truth be told, the series’ future is looking bleak, no matter how successful it is or how popular it is worldwide.

There are a number of reasons why Sherlock Season 5 may not arrive in the near future (or at all). It has been hinted quite a while back that Season 4 might be the last – here are three reasons why it might be so.

More scheduling conflicts are anticipated

Putting a schedule that works for all actors involved is a nightmare if the cast includes some of the biggest names in the industry. The latest season was already hard to carry out without Sherlock lead actor Benedict Cumberbatch being more popular and successful, so just imagine the mess that the Season 5 production will be.

Writer Mark Gatiss admitted the fact to TVLine in December 2016.

“These three [episodes], we’ve very, very pleased with them. And everybody’s very keen to carry on. It’s just genuinely difficult to schedule everyone’s diaries. It was a nightmare to schedule this season… and that’s not going to go away. I mean, the success of Doctor Strange is not going to make Benedict short of work.”

And he’s not the only one who’s getting busier. Steven Moffat, co-creator of the series, has not even thought about it for a while as he’s busy running the show Doctor Who. Gatiss is also rarely without a project and Watson actor Martin Freeman also has a few other projects in his schedule, one of which is the 2018 film Black Panther (here’s to hoping Cumberbatch and Freeman meet in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even briefly).

Benedict Cumberbatch is too busy to come back

Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange has become one of the actor’s most successful works, if not the most. And Mark Gatiss has said it himself, the movie’s success only means more work for the actor. In fact, he’s already gearing up for a new project in BBC – a TV movie titled The Child in Time, Deadline reports.

That’s not to mention that he’ll be reprising his role as the doctor-turned-caped magician in the upcoming Thor: Ragnarok and later, in Avengers: Infinity War. As Iron Man’s role in the MCU fades away, fans reckon Doctor Strange will be the new face of Marvel movies. After all, he’s already beaten Iron Man’s record of $585 million with his solo Marvel movie’s $616 million.

The impossibilites are endless. #DoctorStrange pic.twitter.com/CKFBXZjfs0

— Doctor Strange (@DrStrange) November 25, 2016

Co-creator Steven Moffat is content with four seasons

What’s more, Moffat has already accepted that Sherlock Season 5 might not materialize anymore. He described working on the show as phenomenal, but he’s fine with just a Season 4.

“Not doing it again would be fine,” he told Broadcast Now.

It would seem that he’s not actively fighting for Sherlock Season 5 to happen, and if he’s not, who will? He also stated that he would like to try taking a different direction other than helming the “giant trumpet blasts” that are Doctor Who and Sherlock.

But! The cast and crew are open to more episodes in the future

Although Cumberbatch is being showered with projects left and right, he still holds the role of Sherlock dear. According to CinemaBlend, the thought of not playing the role again for the rest of his life is “galling,” which means that he is still on board should a Season 5 happen and provided that his tight schedule allows it.

Steven Moffat also said back in July 2016 that there could be more to add in the series even after Sherlock takes a break for years. The creator told Telegraph that Season 4 could be the last for now, but it might not be completely finished yet.

“There would be nothing strange in stopping for a while. It could go on forever, coming back now and again.”

What do you think of Season 4? Are you willing to wait for a Sherlock Season 5?

[Featured Image by Sherlock/Facebook]