Enola Holmes was one of the best movies released by Netflix in the last few years, and there’s a good chance of a franchise in the making.
Enola Holmes was a breath of fresh air when it arrived on Netflix in 2020. Now, there is anticipation about the upcoming sequel. The first movie introduced viewers to Sherlock Holmes' younger sister, played by Millie Bobby Brown. The trailers for the second suggest more entertainment is to follow, and there could be even more of these films on the way.
As Netflix conjures movie after movie and series after series, there is a sense the streaming company latches on to whatever is successful for as long as possible. Enola Holmes should fall into that category. The first film showed that Enola's wit was comparable to her famous older brother. But the film did well to focus on the titular star and separate her from her brother.
A big reason for that is the amount of available source material. There are several books written by author Nancy Springer to pull from, as the streaming giant has apparently gotten past the controversy regarding rights. One good thing about characters such as Enola Holmes is that they can appear on screen multiple times in different adventures, picking up new fans along the way. An example of that is another famous detective, Hercule Poirot. Evidence can be found in the recent films created by Sir Kenneth Branagh, who starred as the mustachioed genius in Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile.
Indeed, murder mystery comedies seem to be making a comeback. Along with those star-studded films led by Sir Branagh, 2019's Knives Out was well-received by moviegoers and will receive a sequel in December 2022. Each of these movies had a mixture of comedy, action, and intrigue that kept fans on their toes, and the same goes for Enola Holmes, even if it wasn't big on the murder part of things. It goes without saying that the Sherlock Holmes films starring Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law fit the bill there as well.
But it's not just the title character who can draw folks into the world of Enola Holmes. One thing that set the first film apart was the introduction of characters like Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes through Enola's eyes. The same can be said for the brief encounters with Inspector Lestrade and the Holmes' matriarch, played by Helena Bonham Carter. The potential to fill the movies with a whole set of distinct characters that viewers can come to love, like a version of Dr. Watson to banter with Enola, would give a potential franchise even more life.
The trailer suggests Carter plays a larger role in the sequel, which makes it even more enticing. Brown was also joined in the first movie by Henry Cavill as Sherlock and Sam Claflin as Mycroft Holmes. Cavill said he returned for Enola Holmes 2 to hopefully set a tone for the franchise's future. While he may not appear in every Enola Holmes movie in the future, Cavill knows what it's like to be part of a franchise. That is one thing he and Brown have in common. They are both leads in major, successful Netflix franchises. With a genre that captures attention and a stellar, potentially evolving cast, Enola Holmes may be around for a while.
Enola Holmes will be released on Netflix on Nov. 4.
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