Sherlock Holmes’ Archenemy Is Getting His Own Adaptation

After well over two hundred adaptations, Sherlock Holmes’ longtime nemesis, will finally become the star of his series, Moriarty. The scheming professor, James Moriarty, has had his spin-offs in the past, but not nearly enough compared to his sworn rival.

According to Deadline, writers Chris Cornwell and Oliver Lansley are collaborating on the upcoming series. Archery Pictures will be in charge of production.

They described the drama as a “modern reinvention of the crime procedural, based on the most famous villain in all of detective fiction.” In concept, Moriarty resembles that of Hannibal with its double-life motif. James Moriarty is a professor by day at Dunham University but is a criminal mastermind in the underbelly of London at night. But with a criminal rival upending his faction, Moriarty colludes with the police to become a consultant. The police are none the wiser, because Moriarty uses his position to hide his crimes and identity. The professor is paired up with Detective Imogen Burrows, and together, they attempt to bust the criminal rival group.

But not everything is as it seems. It’s implied that something bigger than Moriarty’s foe is swimming at the depths.

Don’t make the professor redeemable

With Moriarty implied to be in a detective-duo situation, he hopefully wouldn’t be redeemed. Part of what makes Moriarty such an interesting villain is that he commits crimes just because he can get away with them. If the introduction of Imogen Burrows makes him out to be Moriarty’s Watson, then the purpose would have been defeated.

Moriarty doesn’t have to be redeemable—nor does he need a tragic background to give context to his crimes. It’s been done before in animation, which is a unique way to frame the story. But Moriarty is a criminal overlord who isn’t known to cozy up to people. The only one he acknowledged was Sherlock Holmes. Instead of befriending the detective for having a brilliant mind, the professor rivaled Holmes instead. Imagine being obsessed with someone to the point of committing crimes just to show off? That’s Moriarty bragging about his terrifying and inhuman genius to Sherlock, whom he hoped would be impressed.

The introduction of a new character shouldn’t remove Moriarty’s distinct character flaw. Because if it turns out that his criminal faction has sympathies to anyone else other than himself, then it wouldn’t make sense for Moriarty’s character.

But putting the new characters aside, it’s difficult to imagine Moriarty without his sworn rival. The new series may as well be a fanfic that builds on the world of Sir Connan Arthur Doyle, which is a welcome way to revive an old story.

If done right, the new series is likely to rein in fans from both BBC’s Sherlock (2010) and the books.

Speculative cast for Moriarty

Although exciting, everything is still in the works and far from being released. There isn’t even an official cast for Moriarty yet, but a few actors come to mind. Andrew Scott is the first up on the list, especially with his memorable portrayal in BBC’s Sherlock.

Fans of Sherlock haven’t forgotten Scott’s flippant and deranged act as the professor. Although Moriarty is undoubtedly a calculating criminal in every rendition, Scott’s version had more flamboyance to it. Moriarty, who commits crimes out of boredom and disregard for other humans, felt like a larger-than-life character with Scott. In a new series starring the professor himself, perhaps what it needs is the same brazen, showy villain that knows how to get under people’s skin.

(featured image: BBC)

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]