Luther: The Fallen Sun - Netflix reveals cast details and release date for new movie starring Idris Elba

Fans of DCI John Luther can look forward to a feature film adaptation of the TV series in early 2023
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Netflix has now confirmed the official title to their upcoming movie featuring Idris Elba returning to a role that made him a household name. Luther: The Fallen Sun has been tagged by the streaming giant as “an epic continuation of the TV series reimagined for film.”

The new movie, which looks to pick up where the 2019 series left off, see’s DCI John Luther, played by Idris Elba, behind bars as a serial killer begins a grisly series of murders around London. Netflix’s official synopsis of the new film reads: “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.”

Series creator Neil Cross has returned for the film, with the cast for Luther: The Fallen Sun revealed to include Andy Serkis, Cynthia Erivo and Jess Liaudin in undisclosed roles at present, while television series regular Dermot Crowley will return to the film to play DSU Martin Schenk once again.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly about the film, Elba said: “He’s done so much to bend the law in order to catch the bad guys that he’s ended up in jail. So that’s where we start the story. He’s contemplating what he’s going to do with his life. Luther is just so haunted — that’s his whole thing."

Those who are not familiar with the television series won’t need to binge watch the first five seasons of the incredibly popular BBC series, as the film works as much as a stand alone thriller as much as a continuation of the series. Director James Payne explains: “Because the film has got such a larger platform, we thought it was important that if someone was watching the film for the first time that it had its own story.”

“So you could watch the film and go back and then binge the series. It was important to all of us that the audience could find a way into the series, and to the lore."

Luther: The Fallen Sun has been earmarked for a March 2023 release on Netflix. There have been no discussions of a sixth season of Luther, with Elba revealing in 2020 his desire to return to the role in a full-length capacity.