Guy Ritchie’s Young Sherlock Holmes Series Casts its Mycroft Holmes

Sherlock Holmes is considered to be the very definition of the detective novel. Created by Arthur Conan Doyle, the title character is a brilliant detective whose extraordinary ability to solve mysteries is a piece of art that has made him widely popular through literature, film, and TV.

Many new-generation filmmakers and writers offered fresh angles to the world’s most recognized detective. Among the most recent attempts, is the Young Sherlock series by Guy Ritchie, who is already familiar with the character.

Young Sherlock Got Its Mycroft Holmes

Guy Ritchie‘s previous films, Sherlock Holmes and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, were blockbusters. They complemented Ritchie’s style to the traditional crime stories, giving the audience a crime-solving Holmes with more action.

Ritchie is currently working on a younger version of the detective for the Amazon Prime Video series Young Sherlock, which is an adaptation of Andy Lane’s Young Sherlock Holmes novels. The Mycroft Holmes for the series has been found, and it will be none other than Max Irons. Deadline reveals Irons has been cast for the role of Sherlock’s older brother.

Although Max Irons may not be a familiar name to a global audience, he has accumulated a fair share of credits as an actor. Irons comes from a family of actors, his father being Jeremy Iron and his mother Sinéad Cusack. He is well-known for his roles in The Host, The Riot Club, and the TV series Condor. 

His performance in historical movies and dramas as well as in suspense thrillers proves that Irons is not a stereotypical actor. He has got some range in his acting. Given that Mycroft Holmes is depicted to be even more intelligent than Sherlock, the role seems well suited for him.

Mycroft is a character that was given all of the deductive reasoning skills of Sherlock but lacks his desire to be on the frontlines. He likes to let the criminals convict themselves without ever getting his hands dirty. It will be interesting to see how his dynamic with Sherlock, as his competitor and admirer, will play out in this series.

Some other actors who portrayed Mycroft Holmes in movies and television include Mark Gatiss, Sam Claflin, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Christopher Lee, and Richard E. Grant. Each actor captured different nuances of the character, and it will be interesting to see what Irons will bring to the table.

What to Expect from Young Sherlock

Young Sherlock will explore untold stories from the life of the great detective. Despite many of the classic adaptations being set in the prime of Sherlock, this series will focus on the detective when he was young, imperfect, and still learning. Ritchie described the show to Variety, saying,

We’re going to crack open this enigmatic character, find out what makes him tick, and learn how he becomes the genius we all love.

The protagonist will be played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, who is known for the After movies. He will be playing 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes. The IMDb description of the show says,

A 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes, finds himself entangled in a murder at Oxford that jeopardizes his freedom. His first case, tackled recklessly, leads him to uncover a far-reaching conspiracy that alters his path forever.

The cast list is also quite promising. Other than Fiennes Tiffin and Irons, there is Joseph Fiennes, Colin Firth, Natascha McElhone, and Zine Tseng. Firth is set to portray Sir Bucephalus Hodge, but details of his character are still under wraps.

The show has been put in very capable hands. Matthew Parkhill, the man behind Deep State and Rogue, is the writer, director, and also the executive producer of the show.

Other producers include Ivan Atkinson, Simon Kelton, Simon Maxwell, Dhana Gilbert, Colin Wilson, and Marc Resteghini. Ritchie will head the directing and also act as an executive producer for the eight-episode series.