'Enola Holmes', Starring Millie Bobby Brown As Sherlock Holmes' Younger Sister, Is Heading To Netflix

Netflix has solved the case of where the Millie Bobby Brown-starring Enola Holmes would go. The streaming giant has acquired the global rights to the new feature film directed by Emmy-winning Fleabag director Harry Bradbeer. Based on the children's book series following the adventures of Sherlock Holmes' younger sister, Enola Holmes was originally set up under Lionsgate Entertainment last year, but has now been handed off to the streaming service.

Netflix has acquired the global rights, excluding China, to Enola Holmes from Lionsgate. The acquisition comes roughly a year after the project was announced, with Millie Bobby Brown set to star as the title character, joined by Henry Cavill as her older brother, the famous literary detective Sherlock Holmes. While the film was originally set up under Lionsgate, the studio has handed the global rights to Netflix for an exclusive streaming debut.

Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag, Killing Eve) is making his feature directorial debut with Enola Holmes, which is written by Jack Thorne, the screenwriter and playwright behind the Tony-winning Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and HBO's His Dark Materials. Enola Holmes is based on Nancy Springer's Edgar Award-nominated book series, The Enola Holmes Mysteries, which follows Sherlock and Mycroft's rebellious teen sister Enola as she solves her own mysteries in 1880s England.

Here is the synopsis for Enola Holmes:

Based on the beloved Edgar-nominated book series, ENOLA HOLMES tells the story of Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes' rebellious teen sister Enola, a gifted super-sleuth in her own right who often outsmarts her brilliant siblings. When her mother mysteriously disappears on her 16th birthday, Enola seeks help from her older brothers. But soon realizing they're less interested in solving the case than in packing her off to finishing school, Enola does the only thing a smart, resourceful and fearless young 1880s woman can do... she runs away to London to find her. Meeting a cast of memorable characters along the way, Enola's caught in the middle of a conspiracy that could alter the course of political history. ENOLA HOLMES puts a dynamic new female twist on the world's greatest detective and his brilliant family.

It's unclear if this acquisition is a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which has shut down and delayed productions across the world. The announcement says nothing about whether the Enola Holmes production was affected the pandemic, or whether its slated release date would have been delayed because of shutterings related to the virus. But the movie going over to Netflix makes some sense since the streaming platform launched Brown to fame with her breakout role in Stranger Things. But it is odd that Lionsgate would let go of a series that has the potential to be another YA hit with a popular rising star in the lead, complete with a cast that includes British heavyweights like Helena Bonham Carter, Sam Claflin, Fiona Shaw, Frances de la Tour, Louis Partridge, Burn Gorman, Susan Wokoma, and Adeel Akhtar.