"Sherlock" fans want Tom Hiddleston to join the cast of the Emmy-winning British crime drama series as another Holmes brother when it returns for its fourth season in 2016.

According to some versions of short stories written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sherlock Holmes (Benedict Cumberbatch) has another brother apart from Mycroft (Mark Gatiss), and he is Sherrinford. Avid fans of the BBC show have long been speculating that the writers of the series will introduce the third brother to add new conflict to the international hit series. But series' co-creator Steven Moffat has been cryptic about whether or not Sherrinford will be introduced in the upcoming season, Latin Times reported.

But if ever the show's creative team will move forward with the idea, fans hope that they would tap Tom Hiddleston for the role.

Series' co-creator Mark Gatiss admitted that he would love to see the 33-year-old British actor take on the character, but he was not sure how likely it is to happen, according to The Mirror.

"Tom would be wonderful in 'Sherlock,' I'm sure, but he only does movies now," Gatiss said at a Q&A in Brazil. "What can I say?"

"I'll ask him if you like," the 47-year-old screenwriter-actor quipped.

"Well it's an internet rumor so it must be true. We might as well just wait and see what happens," he told the crowd.

Another factor that fueled the possible introduction of the third Holmes brother next season is the line that Mycroft told Sherlock in the Season 3 finale: "I'm not given to outbursts of brotherly compassion. You know what happened to the other one."

Hiddleston, who is best known for his portrayal of Loki in "Thor" and "Avengers" film, is indeed quite busy on his movie career, so his schedule may not allow him to join "Sherlock." But Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman - who plays John Watson in the series - are also doing movies simultaneously, and they somehow manage to allot some of their time to shoot the BBC series, so maybe Hiddleston's availability could also be arranged.

The three-episode Season 4 of "Sherlock" is set to be aired in early 2016, following a full-length Christmas 2015 special, which will go into production in January 2015, BBC reported.