A first-look image from the much-anticipated Luther movie shows Idris Elba’s detective trekking across a snowy landscape, in a major departure from the series so far.
Over the course of five seasons of the hit BBC drama, which aired between 2010 and 2019, troubled DCI John Luther solved some seriously brutal crimes in his London stomping ground.
The film will see him placed in a brand new location for the first time, and according to Elba, the scope of the new project gave the show’s creator Neil Cross the “time and scale” to push the boundaries of “the Luther experience”.
“We really peel the onion back here because we had the time and scale to do that,” the actor told Empire, which revealed the first look in its new issue. “It also gives Neil [Cross] a lot more, you know, Luther-land to play with, in terms of where Luther can go, how he goes, what the landscape is.”
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— Empire Magazine (@empiremagazine) November 23, 2022
The Luther movie will “break out of the gritty streets of London,” Idris Elba tells Empire.
Get your world-exclusive first look at the long-awaited #Luther movie, with brand new images here: https://t.co/9A9zlPdJYi pic.twitter.com/ZGfvyCYesU
He continued: “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.”
Noting that the jump from television to film can be “dangerous”, as it can fundamentally “change the characteristics of the show”, Elba said that he was keen to “make sure that even though we had a bigger budget, [we didn’t] distort the parameters of Luther-land too much”.
After much speculation, Netflix confirmed last year that it would be teaming up with Elba and Cross for a Luther feature film, which is also set to star Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis.
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Speaking to SiriusXM earlier this year, Elba also described the production as a “grim shoot” involving some unpleasant scenarios for our favourite detective.
“I’m reading the script and then, ‘He does what? Wow, this is incredible!’” he told the radio show. “And then I’m actually doing it. I find myself freezing in some dark cave or something, but no spoilers.”
The film is expected to arrive on Netflix in 2023, though a release date is yet to be confirmed.
The new issue of Empire magazine is released on Thursday 24th November.
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