Enola Holmes 3 Just Got The Green Light, And Everyone’s Asking The Same Question: Who Asked For This?
Look, I’m not saying I’m a genius, but when Netflix announced *Enola Holmes 3* is officially happening, I felt a disturbance in the Force. Or, you know, the algorithm. It was the collective groan of every person who just wanted to watch *The Stranger Things* finale before they hit retirement age, mixed with the confused blinking of anyone who forgot there was even an *Enola Holmes 2*.
For the uninitiated (read: people with hobbies), *Enola Holmes* is the Millie Bobby Brown vehicle where she plays Sherlock Holmes’s scrappy, fourth-wall-breaking little sister who solves mysteries in Victorian London while being aggressively woke. It’s like if *Stranger Things* Eleven decided to trade her nosebleeds for corsets and a bad attitude. The first movie was a pleasant surprise, a fun romp that basically said, “What if Sherlock Holmes, but make it a TikTok thirst trap?” The second one was… also a movie. It happened. It had a weird train fight and some chemistry with a love interest who looked like he was allergic to soap. And now, apparently, we’re getting a third.
The announcement dropped this week, and the internet, being the well-adjusted place it is, immediately split into two camps. Camp A: “OMG YES! More Millie! More feminism! More breaking the fourth wall every 14 seconds!” Camp B: “Wait, are we still doing this? Did we watch the same second movie? Wasn’t that just a two-hour-long Wikipedia article about the Match Girls’ Strike?”
Let’s be real, the real mystery here isn’t the case Enola is solving in the next movie. The real mystery is: Why does Netflix keep greenlighting these things when they’re cancelling shows that people actually watch? You know the ones. *1899*? Cancelled after one season because people didn’t understand the German. *Lockwood & Co.*? Cancelled after one season despite being peak YA supernatural drama. *Warrior Nun*? Cancelled, then uncancelled, then cancelled again just for the bit. But Enola Holmes? She’s apparently too big to fail. Or too expensive to fire.
I’m starting to think Netflix has a secret algorithm that only greenlights projects that are “fine.” Not good. Not bad. Just… fine. A 6/10. A solid C+. *Enola Holmes* is the cinematic equivalent of a lukewarm cup of Earl Grey. It’s technically tea, but are you happy about it? No. It’s the Netflix Original sweet spot: something you can put on while folding laundry and not feel guilty about missing five minutes because nothing of consequence is happening.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room (or the moose, I guess, since it’s British). Millie Bobby Brown. She’s the engine of this franchise, and she’s fine. She’s great, actually, for the role. She does the “cute but determined” thing like a pro. But she’s also, let’s be honest, the reason this is happening. She’s a Netflix golden goose. She’s got the *Stranger Things* money, the *Damsel* grimace, and now this. She’s basically the Netflix version of the Rock. She’s in everything until we collectively get sick of her, which, based on the timeline, should be sometime around 2026.
And then there’s Henry Cavill. Oh, Henry. Poor, beautiful, mustache-adjacent Henry. He’s the Superman who never got a second chance. The Witcher who got recast. The Sherlock who has to stand in the background of his own little sister’s movie like a sad, handsome lamp. In *Enola Holmes 2*, his character got maybe 15 minutes of screen time, mostly looking confused and saying things like, “My, my, Enola. You are quite clever.” It’s like watching a golden retriever get upstaged by a hyperactive chihuahua. The news that he’s “expected to return” for the third one just feels like Netflix saying, “We know you want him, but we’re going to keep him locked in a box and only let him out for 5% of the runtime. Please subscribe.”
So what will *Enola Holmes 3* even be about? The first movie was about her finding their mom (played by Helena Bonham Carter, who is contractually obligated to be in every period piece). The second was about the Match Girls’ Strike, which was basically a history lesson disguised as a mystery. My bet for the third? It’s going to be about women’s suffrage. Or maybe Jack the Ripper, but with a twist where Jack is actually a misunderstood feminist. Or a mystery involving a lost library book. Something “empowering” but ultimately toothless.
Let’s not kid ourselves, the *Enola Holmes* movies aren’t really mysteries. Real mysteries make you think. They have twists that make you gasp. The *Enola Holmes* movies have twists that make you go, “Oh, okay. That’s the guy. I thought it was the other guy, but sure, this works too.” They’re mystery-flavored candy. They taste like the idea of a mystery, but they’re mostly just sugar and Millie Bobby Brown’s charisma.
The announcement has already spawned a thousand thinkpieces. “Is *Enola Holmes 3* the future of female-led period pieces?” No. It’s a Netflix movie that will be forgotten in a week. “Does Henry Cavill deserve better?” Yes, but we’ve all made peace with that. “Will the fourth wall break get even more annoying?” Probably. If the first movie had a break every 10 minutes, and the second had one every 7, the third is on track for a break every 4 minutes. By *Enola Holmes 5*, she’ll just be looking at the camera the
Final Thoughts
Having spent years tracking how franchises either evolve or atrophy, my read on the *Enola Holmes 3* whispers is that the series stands at a crucial crossroads: it can no longer coast on Millie Bobby Brown’s charm and the gimmick of a sister outsmarting her famous brother. The next installment must commit to a darker, more politically charged mystery that challenges Enola’s optimism, or risk becoming a cozy period piece that solves the same tired puzzles. If it leans into the genuine tension between Victorian propriety and Enola’s radical independence, it could cement itself as a genuinely progressive reimagining; if not, it’s just another sequel trading on nostalgia.