‘Sherlock’ season 4: Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman taking on same role?

Sherlock season 3We knew that Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman each loved to grab onto juicy roles, but who ever imagined that the two “Sherlock” co-stars would each take on the same gig at around the same time?

Yesterday, we reported that Freeman had secured the role of Richard III for a stage production of the popular Shakespeare play on London’s West End. Today, it was reported that Cumberbatch was cast to play literally the same exact role in an upcoming production to air as a part of a BBC Two film.

In a statement today, Cumberbatch did his part to express just how excited he is for the opportunity to bring this part to life in a production directed by Dominic Cooke, even if it does not have any firm air date:

“I can’t wait to work with Dominic Cooke again to bring this complex, funny and dangerous character to life for the BBC and Neal Street Production’s peerless series of Shakespeare’s History plays.”

We do wonder if this will be something that will allow Benedict and Martin to share some pretty funny stories together on the “Sherlock” season 4 set … at least whenever they actually get around to filming the show again. Their schedules for the next two years are already starting to fill up, and we wonder if this fall or early next year would be the best period of time for them to work together. After all, it will be around them when we will see Steven Moffat have some time away from “Doctor Who” to work on something else. As we’ve said in the past, the nice thing about “Sherlock” is that you don’t have to film all three episodes consecutively. They can come together, work on one or two of them, and then reconvene months later to finish it up. This is something that more or less took place when it comes to production of season 3.

What do you think about the idea of Freeman and Cumberbatch actually playing the same role? Share your thoughts below, and be sure to also click here if you want to acquire some more TV news from us via email.

Photo: BBC One

Love TV? Be sure to like Matt & Jess on Facebook for more updates!