Sam Claffin's Mycroft is curiously absent from Netflix's Enola Holmes 3 once again. Netflix introduced its own Holmes siblings in Enola Holmes, headlined by Stranger Things star Milly Bobby Brown as the titular young rebel, while Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill played her infamous elder brother, Sherlock. While Enola is unique to this offshoot of Holmes lore, Sherlock's older brother, Mycroft, has been a staple of the mythos since Arthur Conan Doyle's 19th-century stories, and he was played in the 2020 Netflix original by Sam Claflin, a Hunger Games alum.
Mycroft acted as an antagonist in Enola Holmes after he became the legal guardian to his younger sister, effectively representing Victorian conformity as he forces her to finish school. The debacle was resolved when Sherlock was impressed by Enola's detective wit, leading him to become her guardian.
Why Mycroft Isn't In Enola Holmes 3 Is Likely Due To Sam Claflin's Career Resurgence
When it came to 2022's Enola Holmes 2, director Harry Bradbeer explained to Collider that it was "just the practicalities of life" that led to Mycroft Holmes' absence, as Sam Claffin's schedule kept him from joining the production:
"Well, it was Sam's schedule that became very clear, so Sam was not going to be in it... We were very sorry that Sam couldn't be in this one. If there was a future one we would love to have him back. But that was just the practicalities of life."
While Bradbeer was clear that "if there was a future [sequel] we would love to have him back," the third movie has now come and gone, with still no Mycroft, and there is a good chance that Claffin's career is the cause once again.
Around the time of Enola Holmes 2, Claffin was busy shooting Amazon Prime Video's Daisy Jones & the Six, possibly among other projects. It seems likely that Mycroft's absence from Enola Holmes 3 was similarly down to Claffin's blossoming career, as the Netflix threequel shot from April to June 2025, but he got in front of cameras for MGM+'s Vanished around the same time in May 2025.
Having shot to stardom by playing Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Claffin has recently been a busy man, appearing in Vanished, The Count of Monte Cristo, Bagman, Lazarus, and more.
What Happened to Mycroft In Enola Holmes 2 & 3
Out of the Holmes siblings, Sam Claffin's Mycroft is the most conventionally Victorian, which was on clear display in the original Enola Holmes as he pushed Milly Bobby Brown's character to abide by the expectations of a girl in that era.
Sadly, the Netflix sequels haven't done much to explain Mycroft's absence, which seems to be purely logical and due to Claffin's other Hollywood commitments.
That said, as Mycroft is a wealthy upper-middle-class man with a highly influential role in the British government, it stands to reason that he may be too busy for the everyday adventures of his younger siblings, Sherlock and Enola.
Mycroft's absence is certainly felt far stronger in Enola Holmes 3, in which he not only failed to attend his young sister's wedding to Louis Partridge's Tewksbury but was also a no-show when Sherlock went missing on the day of the ceremony.
While Mycroft was missing from the threequel, Enola Holmes 3 is reinventing two beloved Arthur Conan Doyle icons, with Sherlock's closest ally, John Watson, and his archnemesis, Moriarty, stepping into larger roles.
