Luther: The Fallen Sun finds John Luther at rock bottom
John Luther (Idris Elba) is locked up and down on his luck.
In the new film Luther: The Fallen Sun, John is sitting in jail after getting arrested for all the laws he broke while chasing criminals during the TV series that precedes it. "The place where we meet [John] is a man at his very lowest," creator Neil Cross tells EW. Without his badge, John has lost his sense of purpose because his life's mission has been taken away from him in addition to his freedom. When a criminal who John didn't catch resurfaces, he can't help finding his way back onto the streets to hunt.
Even though John's incarcerated, he has a sense of denial about not being a police officer anymore. He has always been someone who made his search for evil personal to the extent that it goes beyond law and order for him. "[John] has historically identified so profoundly with that role and we are watching him over the course of this story let it go and confront what his true nature is," Cross explains.
John Wilson/Netflix Idris Elba as John Luther in 'Luther: The Fallen Sun.'
The man who forces John's hand is David Robey (Andy Serkis), a psychopath who uses technology and shame to torment his victims. While Robey uses technology, Cross sees the villain as more folkloric in nature. "500 years ago he would've been the character you met on a crossroads to make some kind of deal," Cross explains.
Director Jamie Payne is quick to remind us that Luther is meant to be a heightened version of our world, almost like a graphic novel, so the villains are depicted as more monster than man. "We needed an actor that's willing to enjoy exploring the extremes of those characters and be a formidable foe for the franchise's hero as well as understand the damaged human underneath those extremes," Payne says about Andy's portrayal.
Robey's reign of terror taps into a reality of the modern world. Specifically, surveillance and how little privacy we have, especially on the internet. "This time there really is somebody watching and the thought that that somebody could be someone like David Robey, who is able and willing to harvest shame and exploit it, I find terrifying," Cross says.
Someone has to officially be on the hunt for Robey and that is DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Eviro), the moral center of the story. She also serves as eyes into the world as and an additional obstacle in John's way. Odette believes in being an outstanding officer without bending the rules, so she has no love for John.
"For Cynthia to take that role and to be the moral center yet layer it with so much emotional and human complexity is a fantastic achievement," Cross says. All that in mind, Payne teases that Odette will end up in a very different place.
John Wilson/Netflix Andy Serkis as David Robey in 'Luther: The Fallen Sun.'
Luther: The Fallen Sun takes the action to a new medium, but it was important for the entire team to maintain the DNA of the show. Having John be a fugitive creates an exciting new dynamic for fans of the original series while also creating an entry point for people meeting for the first time. "Those new to Luther get to be introduced to what I believe is a timeless character," Payne says.
The movie also makes room for the quiet moments the show was known for. Luther: The Fallen Sun's director, calling those intimate scenes one of his favorite aspects, highlights an exchange between John and the mother of Robey's victims as a prime example. Maintaining the balance of quiet of the series and the grandness of the film was paramount to them all. "We didn't want to lose the small intimacy along the way," he shares.
Payne, who directed all of Luther season 5, is excited for fans of Elba to see his work in the film. "I've never worked with an actor who leans in so effectively into his instincts, properly living in the moment the way Idris does," he says. "This is Idris at his strongest because working with him five years ago was amazing, but watching him absolutely immerse himself in all aspects of the character in this film was a directorial delight."
Luther: The Fallen Sun will move Luther as a franchise outside of the confines of the detective genre. "For [John], it became a way for us in the narrative world to put him in a position where he could go up against these bad guys, but the character himself could be detached and unscrewed from the genre and move to an entirely different space," Cross explains. That was one of the goals of the creative team and opened up the possibilities in the future.
However John changes throughout this latest adventure, what's clear is this is a transitional moment for both the character and the franchise, one that Cross calls "the end of a process of self discovery."
Luther: The Fallen Sun streams on Netflix March 10.
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