One of Guy Ritchie’s most beloved movies is getting surprise prequel series

It comes hot on the heels of the success of the Netflix series version of The Gentlemen.

Prime Video has announced it has ordered a prequel series to Guy Ritchie's Sherlock Holmes movies, with the filmmaker returning to direct and executive produce the show.

Ritchie released two Sherlock Holmes movies in 2009 and 2011 which starred Robert Downey Jr as the famous detective and Jude Law as his sidekick Dr. John Watson.

Both were big hits at the box office and well-liked by audiences and in recent years, there has been talk of a third film in the franchise.

Instead, it appears this prequel series - titled Young Sherlock - is taking priority, with Hero Fiennes Tiffin (The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, The Woman King) set to play the teenage version of the title character.

The show is being written and executive produced by showrunner Matthew Parkhill (Deep State, Rogue) and is inspired by Andy Lane's critically acclaimed Young Sherlock Holmes books.

"With all the wit and charm of Guy Ritchie’s Sherlock Holmes features, Young Sherlock will be an irreverent, action-packed origin story of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s beloved detective in an explosive re-imagining of this iconic character," Prime Video said of the project in a statement.

"At age 19, Sherlock Holmes is disgraced, raw, unfiltered, and unformed, when he finds himself caught up in a murder mystery at Oxford University which threatens his freedom.

"Diving into his first-ever case with a wild lack of discipline, Sherlock manages to unravel a globe-trotting conspiracy that will change his life forever."

Also speaking about the series, Ritchie added: "In Young Sherlock we’re going to see an exhilarating new version of the detective everyone thinks they know in a way they’ve never imagined before.

"We’re going to crack open this enigmatic character, find out what makes him tick, and learn how he becomes the genius we all love."

Young Sherlock has not been handed a release date as of yet but will premiere exclusively on Prime Video.

The prequel series is one of several upcoming projects for Ritchie.

These also include the movies The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare, In the Grey and Fountain of Youth, as well as the series The Donovans.

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