Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch says there’s only one thing that would make him return to the BBC drama, as well as "a lot of money"

Although BBC drama Sherlock first hit screens over 15 years ago, fans are still hoping that Benedict Cumberbatch will return as Holmes one day, but the star says it would take a lot for him to return to Baker Street.

"A lot of money," Cumberbatch said jokingly in an interview with Variety. "It would take it to be better than it ever was. You leave them or yourselves wanting more. There’s always that itch to scratch, but I think it would have to be the superlative version of what we’ve already achieved."

Airing in 2010, Sherlock starred Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman as the crime-solving duo Sherlock Holmes and John Watson, who we all know and love from British author Arthur Conan Doyle's famous novels. Just like in the 18th-century books, the show follows eccentric and unpredictable Holmes alongside his straight-edged unlikely buddy as they take on the strangest cases from mysterious suicides to bank robberies.

Despite Sherlock Holmes being adpated many times before, including the popular 2009 movie starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, the BBC series switches things up by setting Sherlock in modern-day London rather than the Victorian era. The series ran until 2017 and grew quite the fan base, known as 'Sherlockians' or 'Holmesians'. So much so that fans to this day are calling out for a revival.

However, Cumberbatch never intended to play the detective for long. When the show took off, he attended an event and let fans know he was looking to branch out. "I went, 'Guys, I know you really like Sherlock, but if you’re with me, I’m not going to always do the same thing,'" he recalls in his Variety interview. "'I’m not going to always be the Benedict that you expect. You might not like some of the stuff I do… But I want to stretch myself and surprise myself and surprise you.'"

For now, Sherlock fans will have to settle to see Cumberbatch in upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Secret Wars, as the star recently let slip of his return to the MCU as Doctor Strange. The movie is set to hit theatres on May 7, 2027.

Sherlock is available to watch in the US on Hulu, and in the UK on BBC iPlayer. For more, check out our guide to the best Netflix shows and all the most exciting upcoming new TV shows to fill out your watchlist.

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