New director Phillip Barantini promises to take Enola Holmes 3 in a darker direction, taking a page from the Harry Potter series.
Enola Holmes grabbed viewers almost immediately. Based on the book series by Nancy Springer, it follows the younger sister of Sherlock Holmes as she solves crimes all over London. The first movie premiered during the pandemic, starring Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown as the titular detective, as well as former Superman Henry Cavill as Sherlock. It was a hit for Netflix, making sequels an inevitability. The second movie was as successful as the first, and Enola Holmes 3 was greenlit. Now, Netflix has released more information about the next installment, revealing to Deadline that director Phillip Barantini is attached to the film and that it will take a darker, more mature approach, a la the Harry Potter films.
Enola Holmes has always been a priority for Netflix. Brown is a big star for the streamer, being one of the linchpins of Stranger Things, as well as movies like Damsel and The Electric State. Brown was able to bring Enola Holmes to life wonderfully and as she's matured as an actor, her portrayal has gotten only better. That's what makes the more complex direction of Enola Holmes 3 so tantalizing: Barantini reportedly got the job when he told Netflix that he wanted to make this third movie more like Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban. While the first two Harry Potter films are widely beloved for their adherence to the source material, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban was a turning point for the series.
Directed by Mexican auteur Alfonso Cuaron, Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban was less faithful to the source material than the other two movies, but did an amazing job of growing the series. Cuaron brought his trademark eye for visuals and brilliant camerawork, and was also able to get the younger actors of the series to grow their characters in great ways. Barantini using that film as a launching point for Enola Hughes 3 is great news for fans. It could bring the series to the next level, much like Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban did for the Harry Potter series. Barantini has a lot of buzz right now - he just completed Adolescence, a four-part series starring Stephen Graham (Venom 3); the pair also collaborated on Boiling Point, a 2021 drama film about the pressures of a restaurant's busiest night which gained modest buzz a year before The Bear would turn that concept into a breakout hit TV series.
Netflix has been making serious moves lately, and a new Enola Holmes fits right into that. The next installment will be produced by Mary Parent, Ali Mendes, and and Alex Garcia for Legendary Entertainment, and Millie Bobby Brown and Bobby Brown for Brown's production company PCMA Productions, with Jake Bongiovi and Isobel Richards executive producing for PCMA.