British actor Toby Jones (Dad’s Army (2016)) has been announced as one of the new cast members for Sherlock Series 4, which started film earlier this week (16/05/2016). Having already starred in Doctor Who as the Master, as well as playing wartime mega minds Mr Mainwaring and Winston Churchill in recent years, he’s definitely got the credentials to lock grey matter with Benedict Cumberbatch’s Sherlock Holmes.
Jones will be making his entrance to the grand game in episode two of the three-part fourth series, playing a nefarious villain that goes noggin-to-noggin with the master of Baker Street. The details haven’t yet been confirmed, but the show’s co-creator Steven Moffat did reveal that he’ll be playing one of Arthur Conan Doyle’s finest villains, leading to a lot of educated guesses and speculation about who it will be.
Obviously, you can rule out Professor Moriarty, who has been played by Andrew Scott (SPECTRE) throughout the BBC’s thoroughly modern take on Sherlock Holmes. You can also count Charles Augustus Milverton out of the equation as an adaptation of the creepy blackmailer was played by Lars Mikkelsen in Series 3.
However, we’re willing to bet a riding crop and a fresh cadaver that Henry “Holy” Peter is the most likely contender for Jones. The priestly con-artist uses his charismatic powers of persuasion for ill-gotten gains, and he’s one of the few characters to have ever really outfoxed Sherlock, so he definitely fits the bill as one of Doyle’s “finest villains”. Jones would be compelling in the role, making it our front runner.
The only other outlying contender we can think about is sharp-shooting sniper Colonel Sebastian Moran, who was a prominent member of Moriarty’s gang. It’s certainly not an impossibility with the promise of more master criminal intervention in what could go on to be the final series for the show, but Jones would definitely make a better cunning Henry “Holy” Peter than the gun specialist, sidekick.
The second episode of Series 4 featuring Jones will be directed by Nick Hurran, who’s last outing for Sherlock was His Last Vow, the final episode of Series 3. It’ll be a big part of the huge new series, which will be going out in 2017, with the show having to work hard to work things around everyone’s schedule with Benedict Cumberbatch taking on Doctor Strange later this year, Martin Freeman in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, and Moffatt busy closing his TARDIS adventure with Doctor Who Series 10.
You can see Cumberbatch, Jones and Freeman in action for yourself in the Sherlock Series 4 trailer.
