Lupin creator confirms a Sherlock Holmes crossover is being considered
"There's some ideas circling around that," confirms George Kay, co-writer on the Netflix series.
Having become an international hit for Netflix, crime drama Lupin Part 2 is set to return for five more episodes this summer to wrap up its first season – with a second season also in the works.
Fans can look forward to a resolution to part one's cliffhanger ending, as well as more daring escapades from series lead Assane Diop (Omar Sy). But according to series co-creator George Kay, something even more exciting might be in store – a Sherlock Holmes crossover.
Lupin, and its lead character Assane, both take inspiration from the Arsène Lupin books by author Maurice Leblanc, which feature Sherlock Holmes as a supporting character – though the character was renamed "Herlock Sholmes" in later printings after Arthur Conan Doyle complained that the Holmes character was being used without his permission.
"It was a bit of a two fingers up to copyright!" Lupin writer Kay told RadioTimes.com. "It's not a very satisifying pun or play on words, but I do like the attitude behind it."
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Kay revealed that, just as Lupin and Sherlock - sorry, Herlock - crossed paths in Leblanc's original stories, so he has been considering how the consulting detective might factor into the Netflix series.
"Speaking really honestly, there have been [discussions]," he said. "There's some ideas circling around that, that I have, that I'm really interested to explore."
Rather than relocating the Arsène Lupin stories to the modern day, the Lupin series instead has gentleman thief Assane be a fan of and inspired by those stories, with Kay hinting that Assane might come up against an equivalent Sherlock aficionado in a future episode.
"The Arsene Lupin fanbase, which is evident within the show, would have to lock antlers with the Sherlock Holmes fanbase – you want to take it to a really meta level," he explained. "Having that kind of level of fun would be really cool, and it's not something we haven't discussed."
Who would emerge victorious in the battle between the Lupin fan and the Sherlock fan? Well, the Arsène Lupin stories would often see the character outsmart his frenemy "Herlock Sholmes" if that's any kind of indication...
Lupin season one, part one is streaming now on Netflix – part two will arrive summer 2021.
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Authors
Morgan Jeffery is the Digital Editor for Radio Times, overseeing all editorial output across the brand's digital platforms. He was previously TV Editor at Digital Spy and has featured as a TV expert on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 5 Live and Sky Atlantic.
