‘Enola Holmes 3’: Millie Bobby Brown’s Charm Keeps Netflix's Safe Sequel Afloat
The film debuted with a Rotten Tomatoes score in the high 60s to low 70s that continued to shift as more reviews were logged.
Updated July 1 2026, 7:22 a.m. ET
The Enola Holmes franchise, originally developed at Warner Bros. before being sold to Netflix during the pandemic, has become one of the streamer’s steadier franchises.
Netflix released a sequel in 2022 that performed well, and a third installment, Enola Holmes 3, now brings back much of the original cast and crew, directed by Philip Barantini and written by Jack Thorne.
Millie Bobby Brown Is "The Charming Glue" Holding ‘Enola Holmes 3’ Together
"A Holmes does not disappear without leaving clues for a Holmes,” Enola (Millie Bobby Brown) says in the film.
The stakes are high for the young detective as she nervously prepares for her wedding in Malta to the handsome Lord Tewkesbury (Louis Partridge). The celebration is derailed when her legendary brother, Sherlock (Henry Cavill), is mysteriously kidnapped, followed by the abduction of her future mother-in-law, Lady Tewkesbury (Hattie Morahan).
Sherlock manages to leave behind clues about his captor before vanishing, Enola teams up with the trusty Dr. Watson (Himesh Patel) to investigate, while Moriarty (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) works from the shadows.
The film tracks how far Enola has come since the 2020 original: once an inexperienced teenager, Brown's character is now a seasoned investigator who can match her brother’s detective skills.
Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter sums up what the main cast brings to the table.
“Brown has matured nicely in the role, exhibiting a newfound steeliness and steadily increasing comic chops. Cavill, absent from the proceedings for long stretches, remains a sturdy presence as the most buff screen Sherlock ever, while Helena Bonham Carter is again reliably amusing as Enola and Sherlock’s sardonic mother Eudoria. Even if the veteran actress is forced to deliver such generic lines as “The answers we receive are rarely the answers we seek,” he wrote.
Coverage from The Guardian suggested the film skews toward a younger audience and feels more formulaic than its predecessors, though the specific critique attributed to critic Benjamin Lee could not be independently confirmed at publication.
The film debuted with a Rotten Tomatoes score in the high 60s to low 70s that continued to shift as more reviews were logged, reflecting a more divided critical reception than the first two films.
Several critics singled out Brown's performance as the film's strongest element even where they found the plot overstuffed or the pacing uneven; others said the franchise felt like it was running out of fresh ideas by a third entry.
“The glue holding Enola Holmes 3 together is Brown, who is so charming and wise. She makes breaking the fourth wall look like a breeze,” one review read.
A second reviewer wrote, “No matter how old you are, it’s hard not to be slightly moved by the message of Enola Holmes 3. After all, aren’t we all just trying to prove ourselves to our loved ones and society in the hopes of getting some kind of recognition?”
Another reviewer said, “Enola Holmes 3 is another pleasant but frustratingly safe entry. An overstuffed script, frantic editing, and stiff lead performances keep the franchise from becoming the clever mystery series it always had the potential to be.”
Several reviews noted a possible opening for further sequels, though Netflix has not confirmed whether a fourth Enola Holmes film is in development.
“There’s certainly a hint left at the end of the feature that Enola will return to duty, and hopefully she maintains creative momentum, with "Enola Holmes 3" the best installment of the series,” added another commentator.