As a public domain character, Sherlock Holmes can be adapted by anyone any way they see fit, and Netflix have certainly taken it to heart. Admittedly, they were forced to settle with the estate of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle after being sued for making Henry Cavill’s take on the iconic detective too emotional in Enola Holmes, but that’s hardly slowed them down.
Based on the comments from the talent involved, we’re expecting anywhere up to five Enola sequels, not to mention the rumors of a solo spinoff for Cavill’s Sherlock. Then there’s subversive supernatural series The Irregulars, which positions Holmes as the villain, Sherlock Junior, which will look to draw in the younger crowd with a family adventure focused on American youngster John Watson teaming up with his British neighbor, and TV series Sherlock’s Daughter, which was recently acquired by the streaming service.
If that wasn’t enough, a new fan theory has now put forward the idea that the deerstalker enthusiast could make an appearance in Lupin: Part 2, the follow-up to the French smash hit that currently ranks as Netflix’s third most-watched small screen exclusive ever. You see, the character of Arsene Lupin has been around since 1905, and creator Maurice Leblanc included Sherlock in several of his own stories. However, after facing objections from Conan Doyle himself, Leblanc hilariously wrote even more tales that included two detectives who went by the names of Herlock Sholmes and Holmlock Shears, if you can believe it.
As ScreenRant explains:
Leblanc first included Sherlock Holmes in the short story “Sherlock Holmes Arrives Too Late,” which was published in 1906. After Sir Arthur Conan Doyle objected to Leblanc’s usage of the character, Leblanc changed the name slightly. Herlock Sholmes appeared in two more stories and the name was changed once again to Holmlock Shears in 1910. Since Leblanc introduced the character into Lupin’s universe, it’s plausible that Lupin: Part 2 could include the character.
The rights lapsed into the public domain a long time ago, and with Lupin already spinning the source material into a modern and self-aware crime thriller, it isn’t outside the realm of possibility that a thinly-veiled Sherlock Holmes homage could appear one day in the future.