The Luther feature film has been a long time in the making and while we don’t have an exact release date in March 2023 on Netflix just yet, Empire has revealed first-look images of Idris Elba as DCI John Luther in the upcoming film. Based on the images and Elba’s comments to Empire, fans will be treated to a very different experience in the film than what they’ve seen in the series.
Nothing shows that more than the image of Luther trekking across a snowy mountain wearing nothing but his trademark wool coat. As Elba told Empire, “We really peel the onion back here because we had the time and scale to do that. It also gives Neil [Cross, Luther creator and writer] a lot more, you know, Luther-land to play with, in terms of where Luther can go, how he goes, what the landscape is. We break out of the gritty streets of London, we take it outside of that a little bit. And that’s great. It feels like now we’re entering a different life of the Luther experience.”
When viewers last saw Luther at the end of the fifth series, he was being led away in handcuffs after the deaths of several people connected with him with his fate being left up in the air. There are no details on the film’s plot or how Luther will remain free, but Elba also promised despite the grander nature of a feature-length film and higher budget, it will still retain the look and feel of the beloved series.
“It’s really dangerous when expanding from television to film to throw a lot of money at it, and for that moment to change the characteristics of the show. I wanted to make sure that even though we had a bigger budget, [we didn’t] distort the parameters of Luther-land too much. We do amplify the action and do amplify the stakes. But [Season 3’s] man-under-the-bed moment? That don’t cost you much money. Those moments are still intact.”
Elba will be joined by Cynthia Erivo (Harriet) as Luther’s fellow detective and nemesis and Andy Serkis (The Batman) as the film’s villain. The film is helmed by Luther Series 5 director Jamie Payne from a script written by creator Neil Cross.
The Luther series follows Elba as DCI John Luther, a talented yet obsessive and sometimes overly violent detective who has never been able to prevent himself from being consumed by the darkness of the crimes with which he deals while also struggling to separate his personal and professional lives. The critically acclaimed BBC series premiered its first season in 2010 and ran for a total of five seasons, debuting its latest season in 2019.
Luther will be released March 2023 on Netflix.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
