Detective Chief Inspector John Luther is officially back! Your very first look at Luther: The Fallen Sun sees Idris Elba’s brooding detective donning his signature gray tweed overcoat as a haunting voice-over whispers: “Something’s coming…”  And that something is coming on March 10, 2023.

Directed by Jamie Payne with a script by creator Neil Cross, the new movie builds on and reimagines the award winning series, throwing Luther and his colleagues into a bigger, bolder game of cat and mouse. “I really wanted to amplify what we’ve done with the television show,” Elba told Netflix about returning to the role he played over five seasons for an action-packed, stand-alone film. 

Luther: The Fallen Sun kicks off with Luther behind bars after crossing a line in his pursuit of justice. “He’s done so much to bend the law in order to catch the bad guys that he’s ended up in jail,” Elba said. “That’s where we start the story. This old case that didn’t really ever get solved creeps up back into his life. And John can’t help but find a way to get involved. This bad guy is out there and he has to go out and get him.”

Payne, who also directed the series’ fifth season, added that the movie introduces a new take on the beloved character, dropping him into a situation he’s never been in before. “Luther’s an unstoppable force,” he said. “But up to this point, he’s had to tread around the law of the police, because that was his job. Now, he’s a fugitive. This is Luther untethered. This man is so forward in his thinking and is in action. He’s like a wrecking ball, but the smartest wrecking ball you’ve ever met in your life.”

What’s the plot of Luther: The Fallen Sun?

The logline for the film reads: “In Luther: The Fallen Sun — an epic continuation of the award winning television saga reimagined for film — a gruesome serial killer is terrorizing London while the brilliant but disgraced detective John Luther sits behind bars. Haunted by his failure to capture the cyber psychopath who now taunts him, Luther decides to break out of prison to finish the job by any means necessary.”

Who’s in the Luther: The Fallen Sun cast?

Elba reprises his role as Luther, now in prison and tormented by a serial killer on the loose. The film also stars Cynthia Erivo, Andy Serkis and Dermot Crowley, who returns as Martin Schenk.

Why is it called The Fallen Sun?

The film’s title came about after a period of heated brainstorming for Luther creator and Fallen Sun screenwriter Neil Cross. Several alternate titles, largely music-themed, came close; Cross considered naming the film after Luther’s theme song, “Paradise Circus” by Massive Attack, as well as The House of Love’s “Destroy the Heart” and Nick Cave’s “The Mercy Seat.” 

But ultimately, the title wound up being none of those. “At the last possible second (because of course) I woke up realizing the film was called The Fallen Sun and probably always had been,” Cross tells Tudum. “I liked the way the words looked and sounded together. They naturally implied sunset and therefore an  imminent descent into darkness. But this association extended to include Luther himself. When we meet him, he’s the fallen son — and indeed about to descend even further into darkness. But pleasingly, the name also implies the adversary (‘How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer!’)... and thus our gleefully Mephistophelean David Robey.” 
When’s the Luther: The Fallen Sun release date?

Luther: The Fallen Sun will premiere on Netflix on March 10, 2023.