Summary

• Young Sherlock will bring back the stylized fight choreography that was a trademark of Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes adaptations.
• The prequel should learn from the divisive approach of Ritchie's films while still developing its own style and identity.
• Young Sherlock, played by Hero Fiennes Tiffin, will showcase a younger, more reckless version of the iconic detective.

Young Sherlock might not be a direct prequel to Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies, but the filmmaker’s involvement in the project means that one trademark feature of those films could be making a comeback. Details about the plot of Young Sherlock are sparse, but Amazon’s series will follow a younger version of the iconic detective as he’s drawn into a murder mystery at Oxford University, which drives him to become the world’s greatest detective that we all know and love. Guy Ritchie, who previously directed the Sherlock Holmes adaptations with Robert Downey Jr and Jude Law, will be involved again.

Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies have found their fanbase today, but at the time of release, they were extremely divisive. The projects took a completely different approach toward the character that we’d never really seen before, and while this allowed Ritchie to drive the story in a new direction, it didn’t particularly feel like Sherlock as the stories were written. Young Sherlock should definitely learn from the films’ mistakes, but steering away from the classic stories and developing the character isn’t a bad thing. In fact, Young Sherlock aims to answer huge questions about the character that even the books avoided.

Robert Downey Jr.’s Sherlock Holmes’ Fighting Style Needs To Be In Young Sherlock

The Movie's Combat Scenes Were Surprisingly Strong

One of the most uniquely polarizing aspects of Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes movies was the over-stylized fight choreography. The director often used combat to display Holmes’ enhanced awareness and quick reflexes, allowing the character to calculate his way out of trouble as his opponents used their physical advantage. Although it was something that Ritchie essentially fabricated for his adaptations, it allowed for some entertaining fight sequences that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise, given Holmes’ lack of combat training or experience.

Hero Fiennes Tiffin will play the titular character in Young Sherlock

This doesn’t mean that Young Sherlock should copy this style entirely, but something similar would go a long way in distinguishing this project from the many adaptations that have come before it. Additionally, with Sherlock being much younger and probably more reckless in this story, it would make sense for him to be getting into fights and picking arguments with people bigger than him. If the prequel decides to include any fight sequences, which seems likely, there needs to be some kind of stylized choreography to give Young Sherlock the flair that made Ritchie’s previous adaptations so singular.

Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes Action Was Very Divisive When The Movies Came Out

Not Everybody Loved The Director's Dynamic Style

Although I’ve learned to love the action now, that’s not to say it was universally accepted when the movies were released. Many people complained that Ritchie was removing the down-to-earth nature of Sherlock by making him so capable in fights - he’s not a character that’s likely to get himself into any physical trouble, and while Ritchie is a skilled director, these scenes definitely felt somewhat out of place. The best way to overcome this issue is to understand that Ritchie’s movies are only one adaptation of the character; this isn’t the definitive Sherlock Holmes, but rather a reimagining.

Sherlock Holmes, and particularly its direct sequel A Game of Shadows, are intended to be action movies with a mystery twist.

When you start to view Ritchie’s films through this lens, acknowledging that his version of Sherlock is intended to be fresh and different, it’s much easier to enjoy these unique action sequences and the implications for the character. Sherlock Holmes, and particularly its direct sequel A Game of Shadows, are intended to be action movies with a mystery twist. And since it’s been a long time since any update on Sherlock Holmes 3, Young Sherlock might have to scratch that specific itch for fans of those adaptations.

Young Sherlock Should Still Be Different Enough From Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Movies

The Project Needs To Have Its Own Identity

However, none of this means that Young Sherlock should be a clean copy of Ritchie’s previous Sherlock Holmes movies. There needs to be enough separation between the projects for audiences to understand that these are two different takes on the character, set in different universes and focusing on different stories. Making them too similar could distort the audience's expectations and set the project up for failure. Instead, this prequel should strive to define its own identity and develop its own style - it just wouldn’t hurt to borrow the aspects that made Ritchie’s other films so enjoyable.

Ultimately, Young Sherlock is bound to be different from Sherlock Holmes because of the character’s age. This version of the character should be less professional, display less mastery of his skills, and take more risks than the character played by Robert Downey Jr. in the previous films. This would clearly separate Young Sherlock from other adaptations and give it a unique angle that isn’t possible in other stories - Sherlock Holmes is often presented as a flawless and infallible character, so following him at a younger age is a good way of exploring his weaknesses.