Idris Elba says a 'Luther' movie ‘is happening’

Idris Elba is dying to make a Luther movie (Image by BBC)
Idris Elba is dying to make a Luther movie (Image by BBC)

Idris Elba has once again insisted that a movie version of Luther is going to happen at some point in the future.

Elba said as much to various press outlets, including Digital Spy, after he accepted the Special Award at this year’s Virgin Media BAFTA TV Awards.

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“I’ve maintained I’d like to see it come to a film, and that is where I think we are heading towards — a film,” Elba teased. “And I’m looking forward to making that happen. It is happening.”

“With film, the sky is the limit. You can be a little bit more bold with the storylines. And a little bit more international, and a little more up the scale. But John Luther is always going to be John Luther.”

Actor Idris Elba arrives for the world premiere of the movie "Cats" in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 16, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly
Actor Idris Elba arrives for the world premiere of the movie "Cats" in Manhattan, New York, U.S., December 16, 2019. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

This isn’t the first time this month that Elba has promised a Luther movie, as he told Sky News, “I’ve made it very clear that I’d like to see Luther come back as a film. And I can tell you this, that we are this close to making a film of Luther.

It should also be noted that Elba and writer Neil Cross have spent many years insisting that a Luther movie would soon become a reality.

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Not only did Cross tell the Edinburgh TV Festival back in 2013 that he’d written a prequel script that would explore the origins of the detective, but in 2018 Elba told Metro that the planned movie would be inspired by one of David Fincher’s finest films.

“Luther has all the ingredients to echo those classic films of the ’90s like Seven and Along Came A Spider and I think what we’d like to attempt is use that as a blueprint to create it. It will be more murder, more Volvos, more frowning Luther. Essentially we just want to try and take it to a much bigger remit and scale and perhaps international as well.”