PEOPLE and Entertainment Weekly have an exclusive first look atthe upcoming sequelto 2020’sEnola Holmes, which sees Brown, 18, reprise her role as the titular teen detective and younger sister to Mycroft (Sam Claflinin the first film) and Sherlock Holmes (Henry Cavill).
“Now a detective-for-hire like her infamous brother, Enola Holmes takes on her first official case to find a missing girl, as the sparks of a dangerous conspiracy ignite a mystery that requires the help of friends — and Sherlock himself — to unravel,” reads an official logline for the film.
“They’ll find that their cases are connected, and this is going to be a far more complex and challenging case for both of them. And it’s going to be an emotional journey for both of them, and in particular for Enola,” he adds.
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The sequel sees Carter, 56, play “a very active role” alongside onscreen daughter Brown, including for one scene in which she saves Enola via “a very explosive escape,” with the help of Edith (Wokoma, 34).
Bradbeer also teases of Partridge’s return, “Tewkesbury is going to play a [big] part in the second film, because [Louis] was such a hit in the first, and we have really enjoyed building the romance between him and Enola in this.”
And while the first movie “was about Enola being alone” (her name is “alone” spelled backwards, after all), Bradbeer tells PEOPLEthe sequel features “a story[in] which we go from ‘I’ to ‘we.’ "
“It’s about an individual who knows to find their allies and the value of friendship and cooperation. And that’s a theme that runs through the whole film,” he explains.
Bradbeer says Cavill and Brown’s sibling dynamic was natural, as their characters have “a classic older-brother/younger-sister relationship” that, in some ways, even persisted offscreen.
“They teased each other and just picked up on each other’s little foibles,” he shares. “Millie was always joshing, very gently, Henry, and I think he loved it.”
Henry Cavill inEnola Holmes 2(2022).Alex Bailey/Netflix
In Carter’s case, Bradbeer says she “relate(s) a lot to Millie, because like Millie, she was a very young actor” who “started starring in films when she was around Millie’s age now, and she knows the pressures and the challenges of starting at a very early age.”
“And I think she has given her advice and support and kind words,” he adds. “Not that Millie needs a great deal of support — she’s very good atstanding on her own two feet— but I think Helena always has a lot of affection and strong relating to the way Millie’s had to lead her life.”
Enola Holmes 2also marks the second time Carter has reunited with aHarry Pottercostar for the films, after starring withFiona Shawin the first movie.
Bradbeer tells PEOPLE that Carter and Thewlis, 59, have “a real rivalry” in the sequel — a departure from theirHarry Potterroles, in which Carter played a baddie and Thewlis, a hero.
“WithEnola 2, [David] is an utter villain,” Bradbeer says. “InHarry Potter, [he] was a kinder, more benign figure. So the dynamic’s a little different.”
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And while Bradbeer “was delighted and astonished at the success of the first” movie, he tells PEOPLE he felt “quite a pressure [to make] a sequel that [lives up to] the expectations [from] the first,” alongside screenwriter Jack Thorne.
“We took that very seriously, and we weredetermined that the second filmwould be on a bigger scale with more action — and go even deeper, and deeper emotionally, in terms of where Enola was going to go on her journey,” the director says.
He continues, “She had to grow up in the course of the second film, and to meet also a more grown-up audience. A lot of those fans are now two years older, and we wanted to make sure they were satisfied and that we were meeting their expectations and their intelligence.”
“It’s a challenge, but I think we’ve met it,” Bradbeer adds.
Cavill tells PEOPLE of his character’s role in the sequel, “In this film, we find a Sherlock that has started to fall apart. He has found a challenge that has proven the better of him, and it is leading him towards a slippery slope — a slope that only Enola has the capacity to pull him back from.”
“We left Enola Holmes in a state of growth and self-acceptance and it felt nice to close on such a high,” says Brown. “InEnola Holmes 2, we open with her on the run, which is very fitting and Enola-esque, becauseshe is one to love an adventure! She takes on a case that is actually quite intriguing. It’s got a lot of twists and turns.”
As for her on-set experience with the director, “It was so amazing to work with Harry Bradbeer again, too,” says theStranger Thingsactress. “He’s exceptional. Out of everyone in the whole entire world, he knows Enola more than me, which really annoys me, because we have debates on it all the time. We both know her so well, we have these debates, because we love her so much.”
“We share in common feminism,Phoebe Waller-Bridge,Jodie Comer, Enola and the love that we have for one another, and each other’s pets,” Brown adds of herself and Bradbeer. “I really owe it to him for the growth of Enola and me as a person.”
Enola Holmes 2premieres Nov. 4 on Netflix.
source: people.com
