In very unsurprising news, Enola Holmes 2 was officially given the green light by Netflix yesterday. Indeed, star and producer Millie Bobby Brown has hardly been shy in voicing her desire to reprise the title role, while director Harry Bradbeer wants to turn all six books in Nancy Springer’s literary series into feature films.
Based on the overwhelmingly enthusiastic critical response and huge viewership numbers generated by the original, he might well get his chance, too, especially when you factor in Netflix’s push to build out as many in-house franchises as possible. Enola Holmes was largely inspired by The Case of the Missing Marquess, so it stands to reason that the sequel will look to The Case of the Left-Handed Lady when it comes to shaping the direction of the plot.
Further story details remain under lock and key, but we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones who told us the second installment was in the works long before it was confirmed – that Enola Holmes 2 will be leaning harder into action territory than mystery. Of course, it’s still very early days seeing as the project was only announced 24 hours ago, but there’s the real risk that venturing too far into the realms of the action genre would dilute much of the appeal that made the opening chapter so popular in the first place.
Not only that, but Robert Downey Jr. already cornered the market on spectacle-driven sleuthing over a decade ago, and the charming mystery elements were one of Enola Holmes‘ strongest aspects. There’s definitely a middle ground that can be reached, but it’s up to returning screenwriter Jack Thorne to give Netflix subscribers the best of both worlds as he sits down to begin working on the script in the very near future.