In january, BBC One announced that a 3rd season of Luther, the critically acclaimed psychological crime drama starring one Idris Elba, had been ordered!
And fans of the show everywhere were elated!
BBC head of drama Ben Stephenson confirmed that Luther had indeed been recommissioned for four more 60-minute episodes, just like season 2.
The BBC didn't reveal anything more than that, in terms of dates or content, although Idris did promise that there'd be even "more mayhem" in an interview.
Speaking to Radio 4 earlier today in London, creator/writer of the series, Neil Cross, said that this upcoming 3rd season would be the series' last; so no more Luther after season 3.
But if if makes you feel any better, he also said that the hope is that they are able to make the leap to the big screen after season 3 ends. This isn't the first time we've reported on a potential Luther movie; Idris first expressed his strong interest in that last summer, before season 2 aired in the USA, stating "the ultimate 'Luther' story will unfold on the big screen."
So clearly there's a push for that to happen; whether it will remains to be seen. I think with roles in 2 big budget Hollywood movies that'll be released over the next 12 months (Prometheus and Pacific Rim), Idris' stock could rise – at least awareness of him could broaden, which should only assist in getting backing for a Luther big screen leap. Plus he has a Golden Globe win, and he just might get another next year (or at least be nominated) after season 3 runs its course.
But back to Neil Cross… he revealed some other noteworthy items related to the series, like how the series will eventually end:
“The final scene of the final episode is great and we wouldn’t want to continue. I love an ending. I have a weakness for a powerful and moving ending. We’ll go out big and leave it at that.”
Cross also talked about how he created the character – specifically, whether he always intended for Luther to be a black man:
“It was cast as a character, purely and simply, which is one of the aspects that attracted Idris to the role. I have no knowledge or expertise or right to try to tackle in some way the experience of being a black man in modern Britain. It would have been an act of tremendous arrogance for me to try to write – and you have to try to imagine the quote marks around the words – a black character because I don’t know what a black character is and we would have ended up with a slightly embarrassed, ignorant, middle-class, white writer’s idea of a black character, which would have been an embarrassment for everybody concerned. I suspect that there’s a dearth of decent roles for black actors because most writers are white and they try to write their idea of black and it’s an embarrassment.”
Hah! Neil Cross knows what's up 🙂
