Luther: The Fallen Sun – Netflix confirms release date of new Idris Elba film

Netflix’s Twitter account has released three new images for the upcoming film Luther: The Fallen Sun, as well as confirming its release date and title.

The new British crime thriller will be released in cinemas on February 24 and on Netflix on March 10, 2023.

Fans have shared their excitement about the news online, with one commenting on the post, “Yes I have been waiting for this movie to finally happen,” another commenting, “*nods head approvingly*” and another saying, “Bout time!”

For fans, it has been a long four-year wait since the grand finale of the BBC crime series, which concluded in January 2019.

Now Luther is back. But, given that the film is being released on Netflix, it has been created for both new viewers as well as Luther devotees to enjoy.

Director Jamie Payne, who has directed episodes of Doctor Who, The White Queen, Outlander, as well as Luther, explained to Entertainment Weekly: “If you binge the series from season one to the film, the story is continuous... But, 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.

“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 written by Neil Cross, who created the TV series. It will see Idris Elba return as maverick detective John Luther, alongside Dermot Crowley who returns to play DSU Martin Schenk. Cynthia Erivo, the actor and musician who played Harriet Tubman in Kasi Lemmons’ biopic Harriet, and Andy Serkis will also star in the new film.

The TV series dramatically concluded with Luther being sent to prison. According to Deadline, the plot of the new film picks up almost where it left off, but now, while Luther is stuck in jail, a serial killer is on the loose. Luther can’t bear it, so tries to break out of prison to catch them.

Speaking to Entertainment Weekly, 50-year-old 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.”

He added: “Luther is just so haunted — that’s his whole thing... Even when he’s a free man, he can’t help but chase it, chase the ghosts that get into his head. And I think that’s what drives him in this film. He’s just very haunted by things he’s done, things he could have done, people that have died.”

The five-series BBC TV show ran from 2010 until 2019. When the final series aired, it garnered an average of 9.45 million UK viewers, more people than tuned in to watch the Queen’s Christmas message last year.

During its run, the show won Elba a tonne of accolades including a Critics’ Choice Television Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and 11 Emmy nominations. Since concluding Luther in 2019, Elba has had roles in 2021’s The Suicide Squad, 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder, and 2022’s Beast.

In August, a new report seemed to confirm that Elba will not take over as James Bond, although the actor has been a frontrunner for replacing Daniel Craig for years. A source had told The Sun that, “Fans and Barbara [Brocoli] wanted Idris but he wants to create something for himself.”

Luther: The Fallen Sun will be released in cinemas on February 24, 2023.