It's been over three years since viewers last saw Idris Elba on our screens as the troubled Detective John Luther, but the wait will soon be over.
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The actor, famed for his role in the BBC crime thriller, as well as other hits like The Wire, has finally given fans an update as to when filming for the long-awaited Luther movie will commence.
Speaking to Variety this week, he revealed: "We go into production, fingers crossed, in September," adding: "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."
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It was first announced that the hit thriller would return in the form of a feature-length film instead of another series in 2018, shortly before the fifth series aired. Idris told press at the time: "The next step is to make a film. This season has the film very much in its sights. If there is a film, then it will be somehow connected to [the fifth] season."
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Discussing the film again last year with Digital Spy, he added: "With a film, the sky is the limit. Obviously, you can be a little bit more bold in the storylines, maybe international, a little bit sort of up the scale. But John Luther is always going to be John Luther."
© Photo: Getty ImagesIdris Elba has revealed when filming for Luther movie will begin
While the film will, of course, see Idris reprise his role as the troubled detective, there's no news yet on who will be joining him. Ruth Wilson, who starred as Alice Morgan, told Entertainment Weekly: "I wouldn't like to say" when asked whether she would be reprising her role.
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However, referring to the dramatic series five cliffhanger which saw her character presumably die, she coyly added: "I don't know how someone could survive that fall, so that's my thought. But then you don't see the body. So I don't know."
Meanwhile, the series came under attack earlier this year from the BBC's creative diversity chief Miranda Wayland who said the series wasn't "reflective" of Black culture in Britain today and "doesn't feel authentic" because "[Luther] doesn't have any Black friends, he doesn't eat any Caribbean food".
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