Benedict Cumberbatch was the subject of speculation that turned into a rumor. A suggestion that he should play Martian Manhunter has already reached the actor himself, and he left the door open to play a villain in "Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice."

Of course, Martian Manhunter is not a villain, but he could be presented as an adversary in the film before they actually become allies (that seems to be the theme of the entire movie). But we are getting ahead of ourselves.  Cumberbatch is not at all confirmed to be in the film-but he is also not confirmed to be OUT of the film as well.

Even when the opportunity presented itself, Cumberbatch chose not to deny.

From Comic Book Movie:

"As we all know by now the 'Benedict Cumberbatch is in Batman V Superman!' rumor earlier today was really just a speculation by MoviePilot taken as a real rumor. But when Mr. Cumberbatch himself was asked about it later today he refused to gave a straight answer. Chi Chi Izundo, a BBC entertainment reporter at the GQ awards claims that he talked with Benedict Cumberbatch about the 'speculation' of being a DC character and says that the actor will not confirm or deny he is in the DC universe."

As we all know by now, the casting front is a very complicated territory filled with denials and misdirection. How many actors have repeatedly denied any involvement with a film only to appear in the cast shortly afterwards?

Paul Rudd denied being in "Ant Man" despite the rumors. Evangeline Lilly also denied her casting rumor only to appear in the Comic-Con panel the next day. For "Batman V Superman" there's Jason Momoa who was notoriously annoyed by the media's insistence. He actually has not confirmed until now, but it's already taken as fact that he will be Aquaman.

So Sherlock's non-confirmation and non-denial may constitute the new(but actually old) strategy of secrecy in Hollywood. One thing that we can take from this-the idea of Benedict Cumberbatch appearing in a Super Hero movie would not be so far-fetched.

"Batman V Superman: Dawn Of Justice" will be shown on March 25, 2016 with or without 'Sherlock.'