Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman, stars of the BBC show Sherlock, were unable to attend Comic-Con.  However, the pair sent a comical video message and executive producers Steven Moffat, Mark Gatiss and Sue Vertue were in attendance.

After taking an extra-long hiatus while the Cumberbatch and Freeman starred in blockbuster films such as “the Hobbit” (Freeman) and “Star Trek: Into Darkness” (Cumberbatch), season 3 is within sight.

In the video to Comic Con, Cumberbatch “spoiled” the big cliffhanger from the season 2 finale in which Sherlock plummeted from a rooftop.  Cumberbatch reenacted the fall using a stuffed monkey (pictured below) as a visual aid.  “He really does reveal it.” Gatniss insists, “There are really only a few ways you can fall off a roof and survive. It’s not black magic,” Moffat said the real showstopper of next season’s premiere – which is titled “The Empty Hearse,” based loosely on “The Adventure of the Empty House” – is when John and Sherlock meet again. “It’s electrifying,” he said. “And it goes on and on. That lengthy sequence is my favorite moment of Sherlock that we’ve made.”

Andrew Scott will also be back as Moriarty even though he is dead . “He shot himself in the face. What more do you want?” Moffat said. Mycroft will also be around but unlike in the original stories, all won’t be forgiven when Sherlock resurfaces. “We wanted to explore how [his disappearance] affected all of his friends and family,” said Gatniss. Sherlock will stay true to the books when it comes to John’s marriage to Mary, featured in episode two. However, romance for Sherlock is less likely. “Sex for Sherlock is up here,” Moffat said pointing to his head. “Romance? He’d poison his girlfriend just to see if it worked!”

Producers are waiting for Freeman to finish shooting the next Hobbit film before they can complete production on the season’s final episode, but they already know it all ends with another big cliffhanger. “You’ll be watching the end of the last episode thinking, ‘They wouldn’t stop it there. Oh my God, would they stop it there?’ ” Moffat teased.