Luther may be “finished” as a TV series, but creator Neil Cross has announced that he hopes to revive the character in a prequel movie.
“I’ve written the script,” he told BBC News, explaining that the potential film would “follow [John Luther’s] career in the earlier days, when he is still married to Zoe, and the final scene in the film is the first of the initial TV series.”
The series, which followed the troubled detective John Luther, played by Idris Elba, came to an end after its third season aired earlier this year. Elba expressed his own interest in creating a film based around the titular character, indicating that such a project would explore “who Luther is and where he’s come from.”
The film would be based on a novel written by Cross, “The Calling,” which focuses on a particularly disturbing case involving a child killer. The choice to make the movie a prequel will also allow Cross to bring back fan-favorite characters who did not survive the show’s final season.
Another character who will not appear in the film, but may be getting a television series of her own, is Ruth Wilson’s sociopathic Alice Morgan. “The BBC is very interested in the project,” according to Cross, who admitted that he “absolutely [adores] Alice” and envisions the potential series as “a mix between The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Last Seduction.”
Attached to star in the prequel are Elba, Indira Varma, Warren Brown and Steve Mackintosh. Though no concrete date has been set for production to begin, Cross has said that he “[hopes] to get the film made next year.”
Luther’s final season will air on BBC America beginning September 3 at 10 PM.