If an author starts out writing a Sherlock Holmes book and winds up become more of a romantic comedy instead of a whodunnit, it's still a Sherlock Holmes story. While a Mid-Development Genre Shift can result in a notably different final product, it may have just been a natural evolution of the story as it came together. The trope has to fundamentally part ways with the work it started from.If the work is called 'Sherlock Holmes Without a Problem,' and is later renamed to simply 'Without a Problem' but still stars Sherlock Holmes, it's still a Sherlock Holmes story. The trope is not about anything as simple as titles, it is centered around core story beats with an eye towards what they can change and get around a copyright lawyer.The novel would have to be rewritten to remove all Sherlock Holmes character and mythos from the narrative. If an author writes a novel about Sherlock Holmes in a dystopian future, it's still a Sherlock Holmes novel.

Whether it counts as Canon Discontinuity or an Alternate Universe to a 'prime' canon is not the issue of consideration.

The work has to be slotted within a particular title, franchise or 'sub' franchise, before turning down a different path.Take into consideration key definition points: A contrast to Dolled-Up Installment, where a work started unrelated and was then boosted afterwards with an established name. If you look at it sideways you might see where its origins came from, but all definitive signs of its heritage are completely erased. Mostly, they wanted to keep the script and existing production work that was done while having the Serial Numbers Filed Off. It may be that the license expired, the popularity of the work was seen as on the decline, the sales pitch ended up rejected or the original creative team had deviated so much from the source material it was seen as so In Name Only they might as well change the name too. But a curious thing can happen when during development a work starts off as part of a franchise or IP but ends up being reworked into something else or entirely divergent from where it began.

Various Intellectual Properties and Franchises will have discussions on adaptations, sequels and spin-offs, often just to try and keep the license.

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