Sherlock creator: This will be the darkest season yet 

is set to return for its first full series in almost three years and the creators promise that the show will be back darker than ever.

While speaking at the EW lounge at San Diego Comic-Con, the creative team behind the BBC hit was shy about giving too many details about the upcoming episodes, but did offer a slight tease. “It’s no spoiler: We explicitly said it is the darkest season yet and still obviously full of laughs and fun, but is generally tonally dark,” said co-creator Mark Gatiss, who also stars as Mycroft Holmes.

Part of the show’s dark tone could be the result of the return of Moriarty (Andrew Scott). The classic

adversary was previously presumed dead, but the end of series 3 saw him seemingly return. Fellow creator Steven Moffat weighed on how this possible resurrection would affect Sherlock (Benedict Cumberbatch). “He is very surprised because Moriarty is definitely dead, and he’s probably thinking, ‘What a gratuitous cliffhanger, the man shot himself in the face,’” he joked.

Entertainment Weekly is on the scene at San Diego Comic-Con. Go inside with all our coverage, available here.

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