The cunning detective first appeared in 1887 thanks to Sir Conan Doyle, whose 56 short stories and four novels have since inspired multiple movies and TV
shows featuring big names like Benedict Cumberbatch, Frank Langella, Robert
Downey Jr., Johnny Lee Miller and, soon, Sir Ian McKellen.
Robert Downey Jr., Jude Law In this film publicity image released by Warner Bros. Pictures, Robert Downey Jr., left, and Jude Law are shown in a scene from "Sherlock Holmes." (AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures)
AP Photo/Warner Bros. Pictures
Sherlock Benedict Cumberbatch portrays Sherlock Holmes in "Sherlock." Cumberbatch was nominated for an Emmy Award for best actor in a miniseries or movie for "Sherlock: His Last Vow," on Thursday, July 10, 2014. (AP Photo/PBS, File)
AP Photo/PBS, File
TV-Fall Season This image released by CBS shows Jonny Lee Miller as Sherlock Holmes, left, and Lucy Liu as Watson from the new television series "Elementary," premiering Thursday, Sept. 27, 2012 at 10 p.m. EST on CBS. (AP Photo/CBS, Nino Muñoz)
AP Photo/CBS, Nino Muñoz
Mr Holmes British actor Ian McKellen poses for a photograph on the first day of filming for "Mr. Holmes", in which he portrays a 93-year-old Sherlock Holmes, London. Filming has begun on "Mr. Holmes," which imagines the famous sleuth in his old age as a retiree living in seclusion by the sea. The movie, based on Mitch Cullin's novel "A Slight Trick of the Mind," sees the detective struggling with a failing memory and revisiting one final unresolved mystery. (AP Photo/Agatha A Nitecka, See-Saw Films)
AP Photo/Agatha A Nitecka, See-Saw Films
Arthur Conan Doyle This 1930 photo shows Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the author and creator of Sherlock Holmes. Writer Leslie Klinger is challenging the Conan Doyle Estate, LTD over the right to use the Sherlock Holmes character in new tales. (AP Photo/File)
AP Photo/File
Gillette American actor and playwright William Gillette is shown as Sherlock Holmes in this undated photo. (AP Photo)
AP Photo
Jeremy Brett and Edward Hardwicke, top, pose in their roles as Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson, respectively, in the PBS "Mystery" series about the famed British detective and his sidekick. "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes" concludes the series with the last episodes shot before Brett's death Sept. 12. (AP Photo/PBS)
AP Photo/PBS
Britain Sherlock Holmes This image made available by the Museum of London shows the illustration The Adventure of the Silver Blaze - "Holmes gave me a sketch of the events", from the Strand magazine Vol iv.1892, page 646. The Museum of London on Tuesday May 20, 2014 announced an exhibition devoted entirely to the detective, from Arthur Conan Doyle's hand-written manuscripts to the coat worn by Benedict Cumberbatch in the BBC series "Sherlock." It is the first time the museum devoted to London's history has held a show about a fictional character. (AP Photo/Museum of London)
AP Photo/Museum of London