Rumors of a film based on the hit BBC show Luther have been flittering around the Internet since the show was in its first season. On the heels of completing the third (and perhaps final) season, series star Idris Elba has confirmed that the film is a go.
Speaking to Kate Garraway on ITV’s Lorraine, Elba said the movie is “definitely on the cards.” Noting that the show started out with only four episodes which led to an international following, the star said he and series creator Neil Cross are looking forward to continuing Luther on the big screen.
“I’m speaking to him as we speak,” Elba said, “and we’re trying to pull it together. It’s an ambitious project because it’s a television show but we suspect that it’s going to be as successful on TV and on film as well.”
Plot details for the movie are a bit murky as of now. Cross seems to indicate that it may pick up where the series left off: Luther departing with Ruth Wilson’s Alice. Cross hints at this direction for the film, saying, “I don’t think Alice and Luther’s story is over.”
However, Digital Spy earlier reported that the Luther film would be a prequel to the TV series, allowing Cross to bring back several popular supporting characters. Among these are Justin Ripley (Warren Brown), Luther’s wife Zoe (Indira Varma) and DCI Ian Reed (Steve Mackintosh). This report is mirrored by IndieWire, who quotes Cross as saying he’s finished the script, plans to start production in 2014 and that “the final scene in the film is the first of the initial TV series.”
Really what this boils down to for fans is: Will Alice be in the film or not? With nothing specific from Cross, Elba or anyone else to go on, we’ll all have to wait and see.
