• Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title role in "Sherlock."

Benedict Cumberbatch plays the title role in "Sherlock." (Photo : Twitter)

With the fans eagerly waiting for the “Sherlock” season 4 air date expected in 2017, the standalone Christmas special for the TV series revealed at the San Diego Comic Con has created a lot of buzz and fans are still eager to know whether or not Irene Adler (Lara Pulver) is returning.

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The filming for the Christmas Special is reportedly ongoing and the “Sherlock” season 4 premiere is expected to be between late 2016 and early 2017 as the production will more likely begin only in January 2016.

As for the next season, series creator Steven Moffatt has confirmed that Irene Adler’s return is highly unlikely, dismissing the rumors of a “Sherlock” spin-off show solely focusing on Irene Adler, Christian Today reported.

Irene Adler was last seen in “Sherlock” Season 2, when Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) rescued her at the time of her execution in Pakistan. Later, the in the last season, she made a cameo appearance as part of Sherlock’s hallucinations. However, Moffatt added that he had written a sequel to the events following the rescue in Pakistan.

“She ends up stealing all his clothes and running off,” Moffatt explained. “To be honest, I think they never saw each other again, to tell the truth. But they both smile, once a day, whenever they think of each other.”

Moffatt also hinted at a lot of dark stuff in the upcoming season and shift in tone, suggesting an entirely different storyline. It seems like Adler will never return to the “Sherlock” series, including the Christmas Special revealed with a teaser, to be aired this December.

The teaser trailer for the Victorian Era Christmas Special with the official image showing Sherlock Holmes and John Watson (Martin Freeman) was released alongside other videos for the Comic Con.

In this Christmas special, the duo Sherlock Holmes and John Watson are sent back to the 19th century’s Victorian era, specifically to the same time period Sir Authur Conan Doyle wrote the original Sherlock books, Vine Report reported.