Sherlock Alum Officially Makes History With Popular $421M Franchise

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Martin Freeman and Benedict Cumberbatch as Watson and Sherlock

Published Oct 9, 2026, 2:04 PM EDT

Liz Declan is a Lead Writer for ScreenRant, primarily covering movies. She is a massive fan of Star Wars, the MCU, and Supernatural. In addition to writing, Liz loves attending and covering conventions and interviewing actors. Find her on TikTok and Instagram @va.va.vera

A fan-favorite, decades-old franchise will soon be adding a new story that marks a major break with tradition for one of its most popular characters—and incorporates a beloved Sherlock actor.

Although there have been many iterations of the story of Sherlock Holmes over the years, including the film franchise led by Robert Downey Jr. in the titular role, the 2010 television series Sherlock became a standout among them all, and it continues to be a cultural phenomenon even now, nearly 10 years after its conclusion. Taking center stage in that series were the iconic duo of Sherlock Holmes and his close friend and working partner John Watson, played by Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, respectively.

Now, the latter star is about to play a key role in a brand-new project (although, no, it's sadly not a follow-up to Sherlock). Namely, per Variety, Freeman will be narrating the upcoming audiobook of Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit, as Told to Nick Park, an autobiography about Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park. This isn't just any autobiographical audiobook, though. Rather, according to a description of the book, this will be the very first time that Gromit has spoken, thereby breaking decades of tradition, and Freeman will be the one to do it.

Gromit retrieves the blue diamond in Wallace & Gromit Vengeance Most Fowl

Image via BBC
Image via BBC
Image via BBC

According to the same Variety article, Park himself had wanted Freeman to be the man for the job, saying in a statement, "The more I thought about it, the more I realized Martin Freeman was the obvious choice, really. I was genuinely thrilled and honored when he said yes." This decision was particularly challenging, Park reportedly explained, because Gromit is famously "a character who has no voice and whose facial expressions are everything," and the audiobook required that someone finally give a voice to this formerly perpetually silent character.

Considering how popular Gromit is and the fact that audiences have now had decades to decide for themselves how they expect him to sound, this was, of course, going to be no easy feat. However, Park did clarify that this still won't be giving a voice to Gromit in the conventional sense. Instead, Freeman will be narrating Gromit's "inner thoughts" and telling the story essentially as Gromit himself has told it. Still, that's certainly as close to hearing Gromit's voice as any Wallace & Gromit-related project has ever gotten.

For those eager to find out what Freeman's take on the character's inner voice is going to sound like, the wait will thankfully not be too much longer. In fact, Freeman has apparently already done the recording, which was completed earlier this month at Penguin Studios, and both the autobiography and its accompanying audiobook are expected to be released on October 22. In the meantime, those who have been inspired to revisit Sherlock with the emergence of this news can find the show's entire four seasons streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

Grand: The Autobiography of Gromit, as Told to Nick Park will be available in hardcover, ebook, and audiobook versions on October 22.