Mark Gatiss is still holding out hope for a 'Sherlock' movie.

Mark Gatiss is keen on a Sherlock movie

Mark Gatiss is keen on a Sherlock movie

The 57-year-old star co-created the hit BBC mystery drama - in which he also played Mycroft Holmes - alongside former 'Doctor Who' showrunner Steven Mofatt, and after four three part series and a special, he is keen to bring the show to the big screen.

He told Deadline: "We'd like to make a film, but trying to get everyone together is very difficult... You'll have to ask Benedict [Cumberbatch] and Martin [Freeman]."

The series - which was set in the present day when it aired - was based on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's iconic literary detective stories.

Benedict played Sherlock Holmes, with Martin starring alongside him as Doctor John Watson.

Gatiss previously admitted the idea of turning the show into a film was "the natural thing to do", but he insisted it's not so simple.

Last year, he told The Guardian newspaper: "People think you can just wave a wand. It's incredibly difficult to get people interested and get films made."

He recalled a conversation with Edgar Wright about 'Ant-Man', which he wrote the script before leaving over creative differences despite putting "eight years of his life" into the project.

Gatiss pondered: "Eight years is not short of a decade. Add a few of those up, you’re dead and you’ve made four films.

"But, also, we were genuinely interested in making them for TV because we love TV."

He added: "We would love to make a Sherlock movie. It's the natural thing to do."

In the meantime, 'The League of Gentleman' star Gatiss is set to write and star in new Alibi drama 'Bookish', which will tell the story of a bookshop owner who helps the police solve crimes.

He will star as Gabriel Book, who is described as an "erudite and unconventional" sleuth using his thousands of books to give him the knowhow required to solve crimes.

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