Since the (disastrous) season 4 of BBC TV series "Sherlock" aired to mixed to terrible reviews, both Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman have been found in the Marvel universe, instead of those created by Arthur Conan Doyle (or indeed Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffatt). Because of the two actors' immense talents, and the marketability began by that same "Sherlock" series, the actors will likely not be taking on the mantles of the legendary detective and his blogger anytime soon, if ever.
Insane fan posse
There's no question that the "Sherlock" fandom does tend to get a bit cray-cray.
Actually, Steven Moffatt famously quitted Twitter because of fan treatment (though it's arguable whether it was the incensed "Doctor Who" fans or the insane "Sherlock" fans who prompted the said severance). And the long-awaited opening of "Sherlock" season 3 tipped its hat almost to the point of mockery to its fans in the big #sherlocklives reveal.
But, between forcing public readings of steamy fanfic and the notorious #setlock crashes of the very process of the thing that they love to consume, it's safe to say that the BBC Sherlock fans are some of the most intrusively involved of all geek culture fandoms.
The game is on, and so is the pressure
Martin Freeman, who played the faithful Doctor Watson in the series, had remarked back in March that it wasn't fun to do the show anymore, that the pressure was too high, and he even equated the show and their fame to be a "mini-Beatles" sort of phenomenon, which made the actual work not so great to do anymore.
When confronted with these remarks in a different talk, co-star Benedict Cumberbatch (who portrayed the iconic, brilliant detective himself) opined that such comments were "pathetic" and that if the pressure was too much for his costar, it wasn't nearly enough to not go on, according to Sherlock himself.
Since this response (which has been called "heated" because of the supposed contrarian response from Cumberbatch), Freeman has had an opportunity to clarify what he originally meant.
He expressed that it wasn't a matter of not enjoying the work anymore, nor of a lack of fan appreciation on his part, just that when fans run so rampant with the material, and with the actors as idols to boot, it gets to be more about that than about doing the good work that the Sherlock series is all about.
And, of course, because of the two stars' busy-ness with the Marvel universe (let alone their arch-villain Moriarty, played by Andrew Scott's continued work in Hamlet and other things), a season 5 of "Sherlock" is not looking likely for the time being. Not to worry, as there is plenty of Marvel-ous goodness and a new Dracula series by the show's showrunners in the offing to enjoy.
