‘Sherlock’ series 4 starts filming; Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman to face ghosts and fatherhood [VIDEO]

“Sherlock” has now commenced filming. Two years after the third season has aired, the British crime drama has finally started production for the fourth season, bringing back stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman to the small screen in 2017.

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There’s not much revealed in the BBC announcement. However, it mentioned something about “ghosts,” which perhaps allude to the return of Moriarty (Andrew Scott), who is definitely dead, according to Sherlock (Cumberbatch) himself in the 2016 special “The Abominable Bride.”

“We all have a past. Ghosts. They are the shadows that define our every sunny day...” the press release reads.

“Sherlock series four – here we go again! Whatever else we do, wherever we all go, all roads lead back to Baker Street – and it always feels like coming home,” Co-creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss said. “Ghosts of the past are rising in the lives of Sherlock Holmes and John Watson bringing adventure, romance and terror in their wake. This is the story we’ve been telling from the beginning. A story about to reach its climax...”

With Moriarty dead and may reappear somehow in whatever capacity, the only other prominent “Sherlock” characters that have appeared in the show and have left, either by banishment or death, are Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) and Charles Augustus Magnussen (Lars Mikkelsen). Irene faked her death with the help of Sherlock in “A Scandal in Belgravia,” while Charles was shot dead by Sherlock in “His Last Vow.” They may also be the “ghosts” that the show has been teasing viewers about.

“Series four begins with the nation’s favourite detective, the mercurial Sherlock Holmes, back once more on British soil, as Doctor Watson and his wife, Mary, prepare for their biggest ever challenge – becoming parents for the first time,” the release continues. Watson and Mary are played by real life partners Freeman and Amanda Abbington.

For the first time in its short history, “Sherlock” will have a female director. American Rachel Talalay will be helming the first episode. She has directed episodes from “Supernatural,” “Doctor Who,” “The Flash” and “Legends of Tomorrow” among many others.

“Sherlock” series 4 will be released in 2017.

Read: ‘Sherlock’: The problem with Tom Hiddleston playing a third Holmes brother