Having adapted all three of JK Rowling's Cormoran Strike novels for the screen, BBC One's Strike now finds itself in limbo, waiting for more source material to be published.
Rowling authored three Strike books between 2013 and 2015, but is still working on a fourth, titled Lethal White.
There are no plans for the TV version to branch out into original stories, which means we could be in for a long wait before we get another outing starring Tom Burke as private eye Strike and Holliday Grainger as his partner Robin.
Speaking to Digital Spy and other press, Burke revealed that 2019 might be the earliest that filming begins on a follow-up to the upcoming Career of Evil (based on Rowling's third book).
"I don't think it would be until the year after this year," he said, before hinting that future Strike instalments might run longer than the two and three-parters it's delivered so far.
"They're very happy with it, but interestingly enough, the one thing they do feel, if we do more, is it maybe can be spaced out a bit more. That we can fit a bit more in. That maybe that's where to go next, in terms of the next book.
What to Read Next
"I don't know anything about the next book, but some people do and they feel like it could be a four-part one."
With Rowling rumoured to be planning up to ten Cormoran Strike novels, Burke said his contract for the TV version "reads like an RPG novel, with different pages with different outcomes".
His co-star Grainger, meanwhile, told us: "I can't remember how many I'm contracted for, but I think there was an idea that there might be seven [books] written. But I don't know if that's a 'definite' or a 'might'.
"So therefore, I might be optioned for six or seven. Five, six or seven. But I think they've always been quite clear that they'd never want to write one without basing it on a book. And they're pretty spread out unless Jo [Rowling] just doesn't sleep ever. She's pretty busy."
Savour, then, the last Strike outing for the time being – the two-part Career of Evil begins on Sunday (February 25) at 9pm on BBC One. Previous story Strike: The Silkworm is also out now on DVD.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment and tech news? Just hit 'Like' on our Digital Spy Facebook page and 'Follow' on our @digitalspy Twitter account and you're all set.
