Benedict Cumberbatch may have been busy promoting his upcoming Marvel film, ‘Doctor Strange,’ but he has also sounded off about the new season of ‘Sherlock’ that could be the series’ last.

With the ‘Sherlock’ season 4 premiere set for next year, Cumberbatch opened to GQ Magazine, UK edition that he would love to reprise his role and continue having fun with his character. However, he feels that the story is finally getting to the end and that it could be awhile before he will come back to the series.

“It might be the end of an era,” the 40-year-old actor said. “It feels like the end of an era, to be honest. [Season 4] 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.”

As pointed out by EW, ‘Sherlock’ has faced certain difficulties when it comes to production due to the fact that its stars, Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, have been taking part in more than a few big-screen projects. Although new installments are often determined by the availability of the actors, Cumberbatch’s statement does express his doubt over the story having to continue.

Looking into previous installments, the gap between ‘Sherlock’ season 1 and season 2 had been a year and a half; fans also had to wait for two more years before the premiere of the third season. Meanwhile, the period between ‘Sherlock’ season 3 and 4 has been three years, not counting the Christmas special.

While ‘Sherlock’ season 4 is already set for a premiere in January, it has been speculated that a fifth installment will come up sooner or later, although it is likely to take over a year once more to finish.

Meanwhile, Cumberbatch gets his ‘Doctor Strange’ premiere on Nov. 4, and will reprise the neurosurgeon-turned-Sorcerer Supreme character in ‘Avengers: Infinity War.’

The actor explained what makes Doctor Strange a superhero, saying that it is not his ability to fly and do magic but his persistence to go on.

“He’s broken, he gets up again, he’s broken — and that’s really what makes him a superhero. A lot of people have asked me, ‘What makes him a superhero?’ That’s really the answer I should have given,” he said. “It’s not the Cloak of Levitation. It’s not the Eye of Agamotto. It’s about his staying power. It’s a marathon and not a sprint. The guy endures so much.”

Meanwhile, co-star Freeman is currently filming the zombie thriller drama, ‘Cargo,' as he plays a father who attempts to keep his daughter safe before the virus turns him into one of the undead.