"Sherlock," the hit British BBC crime drama based on the works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, may only have nine episodes in its three-season lifetime, but fans are feverishly craving the fourth season of the series, which series creators Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss have called "devastating."

"We're going to try to take it somewhere we've never been before -- and I don't mean outer space," said writer-producer Gatiss at a HBO after-party. "It will be challenging place to go. We always start with a re-introduction that builds toward a darker climax -- we might just be going darker [from the outset]. We got a very, very good set of ideas."

Benedict Cumberbatch, who portrays the titular Sherlock Holmes, has described the next season of Sherlock as "phenomenal." Also, he recently told Empire, "I can't give any plot away ... but their pitch for the Christmas special and the series beyond that is just phenomenal. We've never seen [Sherlock] being really pressed yet, so that will be interesting."

Emmy Award-winner Cumberbatch stated in the same interview with Empire that his dedication to "Sherlock" exceeds the four forthcoming episodes. He would happily play the role of the de facto detective, who uses impressive deductive reasoning skills, until he's a pensioner.

"As long as the ideas are still there and the audience still wants it and as long as Martin and I are not so infirm we can no longer remember the lines and shuffle 'round the set. I'd love to do it into old age, I really would," stated Cumberbatch.

If Cumberbatch did play the role of Sherlock well into his golden years, he wouldn't be the first actor to do so.

"Mr. Holmes," which will be released later this year, is a film that stars Sir McKellen as the aged and retired Sherlock Holmes, who reflects on his life while in seclusion, and struggles with a unsolved mystery involving a beautiful woman.

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