SHERLOCK HOLMES AS HAMLET. I posted here that one of the consequences of David Tennant’s being thought of as Doctor Who is that “his Doctor Who has contemporary speech patterns and movements, and echoes of these give his Hamlet a suggestion of being a time traveler from the 21st century.” I think that associating Benedict Cumberbatch with Sherlock Holmes would suggest that his Hamlet is always the smartest person in the room and that he can understand situations and anticipate what will happen. For example, it gives new resonance to what Hamlet says when the Ghost tells him about his father’s murder:
GHOST
The serpent that did sting thy father’s life
Now wears his crown.
HAMLET
O my prophetic soul! My uncle?