“Young Sherlock” (2026) Trailer – Amazon Prime Video Series to Show the Master Detective in His Messy Youth

England has never had a more cool-headed detective than Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s most famous creation. Sherlock Holmes, whom Doyle first gave to the world in 1887, is well-known as a man of unparalleled restraint, logic, and deductive brilliance. But was he always this way? The ongoing “Young Sherlock Holmes” book series, which author Andrew Lane began in 2010, has introduced an adolescent version of the Victorian sleuthing genius to fit the modern YA genre. Now, Amazon Prime will bring this series to the screen, showcasing the iconic detective at his most unexpectedly disordered.

“Young Sherlock” – A University Student with a Shaky Moral Compass

“Young Sherlock”‘s trailer, which Amazon Prime Video dropped on YouTube on Feb. 5, opens with the 19-year-old titular protagonist (Hero Fiennes Tiffin) standing proudly before the façade of the University of Oxford. He declares himself to be someone who has “always been more of a thinker than a fighter.” While he says this, we see that there’s blood under his nose, and then we get quick shots of him being beaten up by various people, and then being arrested. “The two aren’t mutually exclusive,” replies James Moriarty (Dónal Finn), a canon character who will grow up to become a criminal mastermind and Sherlock’s worst nemesis.

Even if he was merely an unfairly blamed victim in the aforementioned violent clips, it’s clear that 19-year-old Sherlock Holmes is far from the principled crime-fighter he will grow up to become: a couple of other clips establish him as a pickpocket, and his mother (Natasha McElhone) makes him assure her that he will “stay out of trouble” now that he’s an Oxford student.

Thrown Headlong into His First Murder Case

Her son doesn’t keep his promise – though this isn’t entirely his fault. True, he probably wouldn’t have wound up in prison if he hadn’t thrown a punch at a classy Oxford soirée, but one night in the clink, he bursts into a cell just before somebody apparently jumps out of the window. Actually, the editing makes it hard to be certain that he fell of his own volition, and for the investigating authorities, the young prisoner who happened to be in the deceased’s cell at the time of death is a prime murder suspect.

“Young Sherlock” is directed by Guy Ritchie, who has an extensive pedigree making both crime films and action-packed period pieces (he directed two “Sherlock Holmes” movies in 2009 and 2011), and the later part of the trailer is no more restrained than adolescent Sherlock himself. There are fistfights, knife fights, shootouts, and explosions. (As if to underscore the culturally non-Victorian character of this bombast, Sherlock at one point alerts the attendees of a swanky gathering that there’s a bomb about to explode, then feels the need to clarify that “a bomb is an incendiary device,” only for the head of the event to snap: “I know what a bloody bomb is!”)

Dr. Watson, Sherlock’s iconic sidekick, is nowhere to be seen at this point in his life, but the young amateur detective still has his share of allies: namely, his brother (Max Irons) and a royal Chinese scholar (Zine Tseng) who is plenty proficient at both shooting and martial arts. He’s also rather grateful to find himself caught up in this dark, perilous web of murder and conspiracy, which has rescued him “from a life of sheer boredom.”

The Verdict – It Should Save Everyone from Boredom

All in all, “Young Sherlock” looks merrily entertaining in the kind of irrepressible way that results from big explosions, intense one-on-one fights, and a Victorian canvas filled with actors who relish the half-quaint, half-ultra-modern silliness of the series they’re making. Everybody onscreen seems to be having a great time, especially with some of the aforementioned lines of dialogue. Whether you’re currently studying at present-day Oxford or living any other mundane life anywhere in the world, “Young Sherlock” may be just the kind of old-school-by-way-of-new-school entertainment to dilute your daily tedium.

“Young Sherlock” will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on March 4.