WIRE Buzz: Helena Bonham Carter joins Enola Holmes; Stranger Things boss gets The Message; more

The Sherlock Holmes universe is getting even more star power. Fresh on the heels of news that Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown would be stepping into the role of the legendary detective’s younger sister in the upcoming Enola Holmes movie, we can now add Helena Bonham Carter to the mysterious mix.

Via The Hollywood Reporter, Bonham Carter has signed on to play Enola's mother, joining Brown and director Harry Bradbeer (Killing Eve, Fleabag) in what’s being billed as a whole new series of movies based on Nancy Springer’s Edgar Award-nominated Enola Holmes books for young adults. That series got its start in 2006 with The Case of the Missing Marquess, one of two Enola Holmes titles (along with Book #5, The Case of the Cryptic Crinoline) to snag an Edgar nomination.

Brown and Legendary Entertainment have teamed up to produce the new movies through Brown’s own PCMA Productions company. With six Enola Holmes books at their disposal, there’s a wealth of ideas for adapting Springer’s story of Enola, Sherlock’s 14 year-old sister, who also bears the family gift for getting to the bottom of a good whodunnit.

The first film hasn’t been tagged with a release date yet, so stay tuned for more casting info as we watch for the mystery to unravel. 

Another Stranger Things veteran, this one from behind the scenes, is reportedly getting ready to help produce his own sci-fi movie missive. THR is also reporting that ST executive producer Shawn Levy is partnering with Oscar-nominated FilmNation Entertainment to adapt Ken Liu’s sci-fi short story The Message for the big screen.

The Message may be a short story, but it tells both a personal and an epochal tale, focusing on “an archeologist whose job is to investigate and preserve the legacy of extinct civilizations on distant planets, who is reunited with the teenage daughter he never knew he had,” according to THR. Under Levy’s production guidance and with FilmNation’s pedigree (it produced Looper, The Big Sick, and Denis Villenueve’s best-picture nominated Arrival), the project is reportedly on the hunt for both a screenwriter and director.

Liu’s story marks just one in a prolific sci-fi and fantasy writing career that’s garnered him a trophy case full of Nebula, Hugo, and World Fantasy awards. In addition to The Message, Liu also has penned other stories that have recently been snapped up for movie adaptations, including The Grace of Kings, the short story anthology The Paper Menagerie and Other Stories, and Good Hunting, which Netflix picked up for an episode of the David Fincher-helmed Love, Death + Robots.

Finally, what is it about Victorian England that makes it such a perfect setting for fog-shrouded dark fantasy? We don’t know, but Amazon’s sharing a fresh new glimpse at Carnival Row, the Victorian-era fantasy series debuting later this summer. And whatever the “it” factor is that makes magical stuff seem downright ethereal when you time-warp it back to early modern Britain, Carnival Row appears to have it in spades.

If Carnival Row looks like something Guillermo del Toro could get behind, you’re on the right track: The Shape of Water director was on board the series in its infancy, before stepping aside to tackle other projects. 

Pairing Orlando Bloom as Rycroft "Philo" Philostrate (a human) and Cara Delevingne as Vignette Stonemoss (a fairy on the run), Carnival Row is set to premiere on Amazon Prime Aug. 30.