Sherlock's Best Character Is Returning In A Surprising New Spinoff

Published Jun 22, 2026, 5:16 PM EDT

Moriarty is Holmes’ famous archenemy, notable not just for his great power and manipulation skills, but also because his intelligence is at the level of Holmes’, thus making him his most dangerous adversary. Moriarty’s popularity grew when he was played by Andrew Scott in the BBC’s Sherlock, making him a modern take on the character. Unfortunately, this version of the character didn’t last long, but Moriarty is getting a new chance in Moriarty Rising: A Sherlock Holmes Tale.

Although Moriarty Rising isn’t part of the world of the BBC’s Sherlock, and thus the project won’t see Andrew Scott reprising his role, it’s described as being set in the modern world, just like Sherlock. Moriarty is one of the most fascinating characters from Conan Doyle’s stories, more so as the author never really delved into the character’s past, story, and more, but this has given other artists the creative liberty to fill in those many blanks, which is what Moriarty Rising is aiming at.

Moriarty Rising: A Sherlock Holmes Tale Will Fix A BBC Sherlock’s Villain Mistake

At the time of writing, not much is known about Moriarty Rising: A Sherlock Holmes Tale. The project was announced in June 2026, with Alessio Liguori directing and Oliver Draiv writing the story. Moriarty Rising will explore the origins of James Moriarty, and it will be filmed in Turin, Italy. At the time of writing, it’s unknown who will play Holmes’ famous archenemy in this project. Perhaps what’s most interesting about Moriarty Rising is its format, as it will be a “dual-format” production, meaning it will be a premium vertical series but also a standalone movie.

As mentioned above, Conan Doyle never gave readers information on Moriarty beyond how powerful and intelligent he was and what his dynamic with Holmes was like. Now, the BBC’s Sherlock gave some insight into the Holmes family life and even made the controversial decision of giving the detective a sister, Eurus (who was a criminal mastermind), but it never explored Moriarty’s story. One of Sherlock’s biggest mistakes was killing Moriarty too soon, and the show never recovered from that.

The only piece of “backstory” about Moriarty that Sherlock gave was a flashback to him meeting the Holmes sister, Eurus, at the high security prison she was at, but it never went into his past, rise to power, and how he met Sherlock. Moriarty Rising will fix this, and it’s to be seen how it adapts the character to the modern world, and even more so if it will take some inspiration from the BBC’s show.

Such a powerful and intriguing character like Moriarty must have a rich and complex backstory that explains why he is the way he is and how he rose to power, so in that sense, Moriarty Rising has a lot of potential. However, it needs to be careful with its vertical format, as it’s not a popular one, and piecing those parts together to make a movie is a lot more challenging than it sounds.

Young Sherlock Is Already Giving Moriarty A More Accurate Backstory

Moriarty Rising has huge competition thanks to Young Sherlock. The Prime Video series, inspired by Andrew Lane’s book series of the same name, takes viewers back to the Victorian era to meet a 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes (Hero Fiennes Tiffin). Fresh out of prison for pickpocketing, Holmes begins to work at Oxford University as a scout, a job that his brother, Mycroft (Max Irons), got for him. There, Holmes meets brilliant student James Moriarty (Dónal Finn), with whom he quickly bonds.

When Holmes is framed for the murder of a teacher on campus, he and Moriarty set out to clear his name and find the real murderer, but, in the process, they uncover a massive conspiracy and disturbing secrets about the Holmes family. Young Sherlock, then, is already offering a backstory for Moriarty, showing how he and Holmes met, how their dynamic was as friends, and how his villainous turn began. On top of that, Young Sherlock is accurate in its time setting, making it the most accurate Moriarty backstory there can be.

Moriarty Rising has some big challenges to overcome, such as the shadow of one of the best modern adaptations of Moriarty and the current run of Young Sherlock, which is preparing for its second season – but, if done well, Moriarty Rising: A Sherlock Holmes Tale can be a fresh take on the character and fill in some of the many blanks left by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

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