Netflix's Enola Holmes - What We Know So Far
It looks like Stranger Things isn't the only Netflix property Millie Bobby Brown is going to have under her belt. On April 21, 2020, the streaming giant announced that it acquired the rights to the upcoming Legendary Pictures film Enola Holmes. The movie is based on the popular young adult detective novels of the same name by Nancy Springer. In the film, Brown stars as the titular Enola Holmes, the precocious younger sister of legendary detective Sherlock Holmes, who turns out to be a detective in her own right.
Netflix's Enola Holmes is sure to please fans of the streaming service's other offerings for young adults, such as Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the To All the Boys I've Loved Before film series. It's directed by Harry Bradbeer, who helmed Fleabag season 2 and several episodes of the BBC America black comedy drama-thriller Killing Eve, with a screenplay by Jack Thorne, who wrote HBO's His Dark Materials miniseries. Netflix has secured the global rights for the movie in all territories except for China.
As if all that doesn't have you excited for this upcoming release, we've got even more details on the release date, cast, and plot of Enola Holmes, courtesy of a press release from Netflix. Get out your magnifying glass and throw on your deerstalker hat — let's investigate exactly what Legendary Pictures and Netflix have in store for us with Enola Holmes.
What's the release date for Netflix's Enola Holmes?
According to Business Wire, filming on Enola Holmes began in London in July 2019; Millie Bobby Brown confirmed on Instagram that shooting wrapped just a couple of months later, in September of that year. Prior to an official release date announcement, IMDb had listed Enola Holmes as expected to be released in 2020. Two other Legendary Pictures movies had been slated to release at the end of 2020: Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of the legendary sci-fi novel Dune, and Godzilla vs. Kong, which also stars Brown. With the latter two films eyeing a theatrical release, putting out Enola Holmes on streaming could make for a stellar year for the production company.
And, as it turns out, that's what will happen. Netflix announced on June 25, 2020 that Enola Holmes will hit the platform in September 2020.
Who's in the cast of Enola Holmes?
As mentioned, Stranger Things and Godzilla: King of Monsters star Millie Bobby Brown heads up the film's cast as the titular Enola Holmes, but she's far from the only big name in the movie. Superman himself, Henry Cavill, will take on the role of Enola's brother — the iconoclast detective Sherlock Holmes. Hunger Games: Catching Fire and Charlie's Angels star Sam Claflin plays the elder Holmes brother, Mycroft. Rounding out the Holmes family is two-time Academy Award nominee Helena Bonham Carter as the matriarch of the family, Mrs. Eudoria Holmes.
It's a star-studded affair, to be sure, and those four celebs aren't the only notable members of the Enola Holmes ensemble. Fiona Shaw — known for her work as Petunia Dursley in the Harry Potter movies and as Carolyn Martens on Killing Eve – is also set to star in a yet-to-be-announced role. Additionally, Chewing Gum scene-stealer Susan Wokoma will be on hand in an unnamed part. Filling out the rest of the Enola Holmes cast are Adeel Akhtar, Frances de la Tour, Burn Gorman, and Louis Partridge.
It's hard to imagine fans of the book series not being happy with these casting choices. For anyone who isn't familiar with the novels, we've got some information about the plot that will get you amped to see this talented ensemble in action.
What's the plot of Enola Holmes?
Based on the plot synopsis Netflix provided to Looper in its press release, it appears that Enola Holmes will follow the events of the first novel in Nancy Springer's book series, The Case of the Missing Marquess. On Enola's 16th birthday, Mrs. Holmes goes missing, which prompts the youngest Holmes sibling to enlist her older brothers in the search for their mother. Much to Enola's dismay, her brothers ignore her pleas. Instead, they take over parental duties and attempt to turn their rambunctious younger sister into a proper lady of the time by sending her away to finishing school. The young detective slips their grasp and runs off to London to continue the search for her mother. Once there, Enola finds herself embroiled in a bigger mystery than she could have imagined.
There's no word yet on how faithful Enola Holmes will remain to its source material, or whether it will incorporate the plots of other books in the series. Deadline reported in January 2018 that Legendary's deal with Brown was to "produce a feature film series" based on Springer's novels (Brown produces via her PCMA Productions banner), so it sounds like each subsequent Enola Holmes movie will adapt at least one subsequent book in the collection.
As of now, no other Enola Holmes films have been officially announced; however, with six novels in the series, there's more than enough material to work with. The solution to those mysteries will likely be revealed when we see how successful Enola Holmes is after it becomes available for streaming.