Movies

Millie Bobby Brown is back on the case in Enola Holmes 2 exclusive look

The sequel is afoot.

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Published on August 18, 2022

Millie Bobby Brown is heading back to Baker Street.

The Stranger Things star headlined 2020's Enola Holmes, a delightful whodunit that followed Sherlock Holmes' teenage sister as she sleuthed her way through Victorian England. Now, Enola and her deductive skills are back, this time facing a conspiracy that could prove to be her most dangerous case yet.

EW has an exclusive first look at Netflix's Enola Holmes 2 (out Nov. 4), which once again stars Brown as the corset-wearing, fourth-wall-breaking heroine. After successfully solving her first case, the young Enola is now following in the footsteps of her famous brother (Henry Cavill) as she attempts to open her own detective agency (and hopefully get out of Sherlock's shadow).

Enola's newest adventure begins after a young girl working in a match factory hires her to locate her missing sister. Before long, Enola finds herself drawn into a high-stakes chase across London, journeying from the city's seedy industrial underbelly to the glitzy galas of high society.

In other words, the game is most certainly afoot.

"We set the film in the hustle and bustle of London, which is something that we didn't really get to see as much in the first one," Brown teases. "We got to really see what this young girl is doing in this crazy city that surrounds her night and day, and we get to explore these places in great detail."

"I wanted this story to be a grittier one," adds director Harry Bradbeer, who returns after helming the first film. "I wanted to introduce her to working-class girls in a working-class world. I wanted it to be a completely new world for Enola, so she was more out of her depth."

Enola Holmes has long been a passion project for the 18-year-old Brown, who helped bring the first film to the screen after her sister introduced her to Nancy Springer's original book series. Here, she once again serves as the film's producer. Bradbeer says her insight was invaluable as she helped him and returning writer Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials) shape the sequel.

"She understands an adult story, but she also understands the instincts of a younger person, so all those things are vital," explains Bradbeer, who's also known for directing Killing Eve and Fleabag. "She's very trusting of us as we put the story together, and she gives input as each draft comes along. That's the most important thing: She has a tremendous instinct for who Enola is."

As Enola investigates her new case, she crosses paths with faces both familiar and new — including Helena Bonham Carter as her free-spirited mother, David Thewlis as a shady cop, and Louis Partridge as Enola's kind-hearted love interest Tewkesbury. (Dune actress Sharon Duncan-Brewster also joins the sequel as a mysterious new character with ties to the case Enola is investigating.) But much of the film centers on the taut family relationship between Enola and her elder brother Sherlock, played by a returning Cavill. Both Holmes siblings are brilliant, of course, but they often find themselves clashing — especially when their individual cases overlap.

"Enola and Sherlock's relationship has evolved to a place more in line with equals in this sequel," Cavill explains. "While Sherlock has the experience and his second-to-none mind, he doesn't have the same emotional wherewithal as Enola, nor does he have the same heart. Whereas in the first film Enola may have learned from Sherlock, in this the tables may have turned."

Enola and Sherlock may not see eye to eye on screen, but in real life, Brown says she and Cavill quickly formed a familial bond.

"Despite our humongous age difference — and he's going to hate that I said that — Henry and I had such a great chemistry on set," Brown says with a laugh. "Being able to play his younger sister, it's quite easy. I have an older brother, and I know how easy it is to annoy him, get on his nerves, make him laugh. I know his weaknesses. I know his strengths. I basically just use that with my brother, so I actually used that on Henry, too."

Bradbeer remembers filming one scene early in Enola Holmes 2, where a bickering Enola and Sherlock each show off their powers of deduction. "The first thing I said in rehearsals was, 'Henry, you are going to have to talk faster than you have ever talked before. This is going to go like a rocket,'" the director recalls. "He had no problem with that. He said, 'Of course,' and off they went. They were on fire."

Brown is no stranger to high-profile projects, especially having starred in the Godzilla films and four seasons of Stranger Things. But she tells EW that Enola Holmes "may be the most important moment in my career so far because it's something that I developed." In her role as a producer, she had input into everything from story beats to production design. For the sequel, she took a particular interest in the film's costuming, helping to create not just Enola's outfits but some of the other characters', too. (Even in the drab, dirty streets of 19th-century London, Brown wanted to include pops of color in the costumes to help capture the city's lively spirit.)

"It's rewarding," the British actress adds. "Obviously, it can be tiring, and when you look back on it, you're like, 'Gosh, I can't believe I didn't fall asleep.' But there were so many things that I got to be a part of, and I was really grateful for that. My age and gender has never defined [my job], so everyone on set really respected me and heard me. It was such a nice environment to be able to experience."

Enola Holmes 2 hits Netflix on Nov. 4.

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