Idris Elba’s Luther Movie Gets a Title, New Photos, and a Netflix Release Date

Idris Elba is returning as DCI Luther in a new Netflix movie – and now we know the official title and release date – plus we have a few first-look photos for you to enjoy! 

Netflix’s Luther movie will be titled Luther: The Fallen Sun, an obvious play on words, given the character’s recent history. Netflix has announced that it will start streaming Luther: Fallen Sun in March of 2023, even though no exact release date has been given. 

Idris Elba recently teased longtime fans of Luther with the idea that this new movie is going to take the character (and viewers) to some pretty wild places – whether they are longtime fans or new fans: 

“If you watched the last season, it picks up after that. but for new audiences who haven’t seen it I think the film is, it’s a whole story, so even if you don’t know where Luther, who he is or what, anything about him, the film attempts to be whole for a new audience,” Elba explained to the Jess Cagle Show. “We just finished filming like about three weeks ago. It was a grim shoot. Oh my gosh. It’s all fun and games as I’m reading the script. I’m like, “And then he does what? Oh wow this is incredible,” and then I’m actually doing it. I find myself freezing in some dark cave or something. No spoilers.”

Luther: Fallen Sun will also star Andy Serkis (War for the Planet of the Apes, The Lord of the Rings) and Cynthia Erivo (Bad Times at the El Royale, Harriet). Serkis and Erivo will present a “double threat” to Idris Elba’s Luther; Erivo is playing a police detective who becomes “Luther’s nemesis.” Serkis will play “the story’s criminal villain,” which, in the world of Luther, could mean some pretty terrible things. 

Neil Cross’s Luther TV series permiered on BBC One back in 2010. The show follows DCI (Detective Chief Inspector) Luther (Elba), a seasoned investigator who specializes in tracking and catching horrific serial killers. The series started with the twist of having Luther form a complicated relationship with a master serial killer named Alice Morgan (Ruth Wilson), which began a slippery slide into the morally gray limbo of side-stepping rules and regulations in order to make his cases, often trying to stay ahead of his own fellow cops, local gangsters, whatever killer he is hunting, and persistent problems like Alice Morgan – not to mention trying to maintain any kind of personal life or connections. 

Luther Series 5 ended with Luther in major conflict with local gangster Geroge Cornelius (Patrick Malahide), thanks to Alice killing his son. Alice didn’t stop there: she also killed a detective (Catherine Halliday) who Luther was growing close to, as a way to keep Luther from forming any connections beyond her. No doubt Luther will have to keep a lot of plates spinning as he hunts this new killer in “Fallen Sun.” 

Luther: Fallen Sun is going to stream on Netflix in March 2023.