Idris Elba thinks he could be replaced as Luther in the future
"Maybe later down the line, when I’m too old, someone else will step in to play John."
It's been four years since we last saw Idris Elba on our screens as DCI John Luther. But now, the world is preparing to welcome the character back in a new feature film which will see Elba reprise the iconic role once more.
Luther: The Fallen Sun will arrive on Netflix at a yet-to-be-disclosed date in March 2023, and ahead of its release Elba has been speaking about not just the Bond inspiration behind the film, but also about the possibility of a replacement lead actor.
Speaking in an interview with Total Film magazine, he revealed: "It’s not a competition, but I reference Bond as a template for the type of film we’re going for."
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He continued: "John is a leading character in a film that he’s the hero of. That’s the comparison I’m making. Some films do them well – Bond is one of them. But my ambition for it is to have that sort of scale, that reverence.
"I want people to be like: ‘Ooh! Luther, the first film? Wicked.’ And to continue that. And then maybe later down the line, when I’m too old, someone else will step in to play John."
The psychological crime thriller has seen Elba at its helm since it first aired as a BBC drama back in 2010. Throughout its five season run, the detective solved an array of gruesome crimes in London, but the film will see Luther tackle one of his most trickiest crimes to date – after having to make a daring prison escape first.
The official synopsis reads: "A gruesome serial killer is terrorising London while brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary."
Although Elba didn't expand on the possibility of a John Luther replacement, he did state that he has big plans for the Luther franchise, in the hopes of one day reaching as grandiose a scale as that of Bond.
"100 per cent, it is a franchise. We’re desperate to take Luther out of Luther-land, and put him in the big world," he commented.
"I think that’s a really important characteristic of scale and growth in our films. I mean, can you just imagine John in Colombia, or darkest Berlin where it’s really weird and underground? Luther could go to America if we want to do that. That, to me, is exciting. And taking the rules of Luther-land and transposing them to different environments is really exciting for us."
As well as Elba, the new film will also see Dermot Crowley reprise his role as Detective Superintendent Martin Schenk. New cast members include Harriet's Cynthia Erivo and Venom's Andy Serkis, with the latter featuring as the main antagonist – a tech billionaire who uses surveillance technology to manipulate and kill civilians.
Luther will debut on Netflix in March 2022. Sign up for Netflix from £6.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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Authors
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
