Yesterday (11th January) Stranger Things star Millie Bobby Brown announced her next, huge project: she’s set to produce and star in a new film series about Sherlock Holmes’ little sister.

Based on The Enola Holmes Mysteries novels by Nancy Springer, the six books will be transformed into a cycle of films, with the rising star at the helm. Working with Legendary Entertainment, this massive franchise could be on track to be the next Harry Potter. Here’s why:

Millie Bobby Brown is the star of the moment

When the first Harry Potter film was released in 2001 nobody recognised the baby-faces of Emma Watson, Daniel Radcliffe and co – now they’re household names. However whilst the Enola Holmes series has its avid fans, the films are already massively helped by having Millie attached. The 13-year-old is already the breakout star of Stranger Things and will appear in Godzilla: King of the Monsters next year, and with an army of fans, she’s on a fast track to the celebrity A List. With her meteoric rise to fame and cult following, people will see the Enola Holmes series for her alone.

The books are critically acclaimed


Nancy Springer’s series have twice been nominated for the Edgar Awards for Best Juvenile Mystery, and received positive views across the board. The strong source material can only aid the novels’ transition to the big screen.

Sherlock Holmes is cool now…

…and has been for the past decade. From Benedict Cumberbatch’s now iconic performance as the titular character, to the Robert Downey Jr. headed films and tv show Elementary – the world of Holmes is trendy; but for those who think Sherlock’s world might have been exhausted – this series is focused on his much younger sister, who solves crimes alongside avoiding her older brother who wants to send her away to a boarding school to avoid any more mischief. Girl power? Tick. Teen rebellion? Tick. Mystery? Tick – its got it all.

There so much scope for an excellent adult cast

So far Millie is the only actor cast in the show – but the Sherlock Holmes universe has huge possibility for a stellar cast. Part of the success of the Harry Potter franchise is undoubtedly down to the megawatt adult cast that included Alan Rickman, Maggie Smith and Julie Walters. If they get the casting right – this could be mirrored in the Enola Holmes series.

It’s about time the gap was filled

There hasn’t been a young adult franchise since Harry Potter that was quite so outrageously successful. Both Twilight and The Hunger Games series’ kept the seat warm for elder fans for half a decade or so, but it’s about time the gap was filled, and Enola Holmes could be the series to do so.