As the premiere of "Sherlock's" season 4 inches nearer, fans' excitement for the series is slowly turning into dread.

While it has been hinted by showrunner Steven Moffat that the fourth season may be the last for the series, Sherlock star Benedict Cumberbatch seemed to add fuel to the rumors in a recent interview with GQ. According to the actor, while nothing is set in stone, it may be difficult to continue doing the show.

It can be recalled that fans waited a long time before the show could come up with a fourth season owing to the lead stars' hectic schedule.

Both Cumberbatch and Freeman have starred in big budget Hollywood movies in the past two years, and both actors have signed on to be part of the growing Marvel Cinematic Universe. Cumberbatch will take on the lead role in Marvel's "Doctor Strange" while Freeman — who plays Watson in the series — has also been tapped to play a major role in one of the future Marvel movies.

Aside from the Marvel deals, Cumberbatch has appeared in the Star Trek reboot franchise. The actor has also lent his voice in "The Hobbit" franchise as the dragon Smaug. The franchise was incidentally headlined by Freeman, who played Bilbo Baggins.

There's also "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" for Cumberbatch in 2018, reported USA Today. 

"It might be the end of an era. It feels like the end of an era, to be honest. It goes to a place where it will be pretty hard to follow on immediately. We never say never on the show. I'd love to revisit it, I'd love to keep revisiting it, I stand by that, but in the immediate future we all have things that we want to crack on with and we've made something very complete as it is, so I think we'll just wait and see. The idea of never playing him again is really galling," Cumberbatch talked about the series' future in the interview.

"Sherlock" season 4 is expected to premiere sometime in 2017.