You may not know this, but the world’s greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes, holds the Guinness World Record for the human literary character with the most ever film and television adaptations. Shortly, The Witcher’s Henry Cavill will be the next in line to don the deerstalker and join the ranks of over 30 actors to bring the genius sleuth to the screen one more time, but that’s not what we’re really excited about, Supa-Fans.
What we really can’t wait for, is the first-ever onscreen appearance of Sherlock’s lesser-known, younger sister, Enola Holmes, played by none other than Supanova alumna and star of Stranger Things Millie Bobby Brown.
Never actually a canonical creation of Sherlock’s original author Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Enola Holmes was first introduced to the world and into the Holmes family by American author Nancy Springer via her 2006 young adult mystery novel The Case of the Missing Marquess.
Pic by Alex Bailey
In this first instalment of a six-book series, Enola is established as an adventurous and free-spirited 14 year-old-girl, who is absolutely mortified when her older siblings, Sherlock and Mycroft, plan to send her off to boarding school when her mother suddenly goes missing.
Determined to avoid boarding school, and the horrifying prospect of being forced to wear a corset, Enola escapes and seeks to find out for herself what has happened to her missing mother, all the while evading her older brothers, and proving herself a more than competent detective in her own right.
One year after its first publication, The Case of the Missing Marquess was nominated for the coveted Edgar Awards for Best Juvenile Mystery, and the series’ fifth book, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline, repeated the feat again in 2010.
In 2018, with her star well on the rise, thanks to her role as Eleven in Netflix’s hit supernatural drama Stranger Things, the extraordinarily talented Millie Bobby Brown was signed on for a multi-film deal to not only star as Enola in an adaptation of Springer’s novels, but she was also set to co-produce the films under her own company PCMA Productions.
One year later, news came that director of the hit UK television series Fleabag and Killing Eve would be helming the film, using a script penned by Jack Thorne, co-author of the hugely successful stage play Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. And is if that pedigree wasn’t enough to get you excited, they managed to sign on the immeasurably versatile Helena Bonham Carter as Enola’s mother and, of course, the Man of Steel himself Henry Cavill, as Enola’s older brother Sherlock Holmes.
Originally slated for a theatrical cinema release, Netflix certainly knew a good thing when they saw one (especially when it features two of their biggest stars from two of their most popular original shows) and swooped in to pick up the distribution rights in April.
Enola Holmes starring Millie Bobby Brown and Henry Cavill is available to stream from September 23 on Netflix, and the only thing better than that is knowing that the possibility of a sequel is already on the cards.
Lead image by Robert Viglaski
