Luther is coming back as a feature length film on Netflix

The hit BBC detective series Luther is making it’s long-awaited comeback as a feature-long Netflix film, the streaming service has confirmed today.

Taking to Twitter to share the exciting news, Netflix posted three stills from the upcoming film, writing: “LUTHER NEWS. Idris Elba will reprise his iconic role – joined by Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis – in a new feature film written by series creator Neil Cross.”

Idris Elba, who plays the leading character of Luther in the series, had already teased the possibility of a film back in May, telling Variety that he was hopeful production would begin this month.

He said: “We go into production, fingers crossed, in September. I’m so excited about it, it’s been a long time coming.

“We’re very, very close to pulling the green light on production.”

In the massively popular series, which debuted on BBC One back in 2010, Elba plays John Luther, a detective chief inspector working for the Serious Crime Unit of the U.K. police. A dedicated police officer, the job always comes first for Luther but often at the cost of his personal life, with the detective being affected heavily by the darkness of the crimes he deals with. 

The fifth and final season premiered on New Year’s Day 2019, where 4.6 million viewers tuned in to watch the return (and second supposed death of) Alice Morgan – played by Ruth Wilson – and Luther’s arrest. Despite the success of the final series, however, the show’s creator, Neil Cross, confirmed that a sixth season wouldn’t be happening, despite the success of the final episode.

BBC

He told Australia’s Insider magazine last year: “There is not going to be a season six — definitively no season six.”

But it wasn’t all doom and gloom, because Cross quickly added: “But Idris, [director] Jamie Payne, and I will shortly have some exciting news to share… There’s going to be more later, but it’s not going to be season six.”

Netflix are yet to announce a release date for the Luther film.