Netflix's 'Luther: The Fallen Sun' Seamlessly Transfers to The Big Screen

Luther, the psychological detective series that ran on BBC in fits and starts across the 2010s, earned acclaim from critics and audiences that helped propel its lead actor to stardom. Since Luther first graced the small screen in 2010, Idris Elba has gone on to play the heel for the Starship Enterprise, the Fast & Furious crew, and even Mowgli and Baloo. But most audiences were introduced to Elba at the same moment they met DCI John Luther — a determined, skilled, and decidedly unorthodox detective. He’s inherited Sherlock Holmes and Lieutenant Columbo’s knack for instantaneous psychological profiling but wields it with a lot more brute force.

It makes sense then that, even if Elba’s enthusiasm and talent for playing the brutish but conniving copper remain strong, the scale of his adventures has to match Elba’s ballooning celebrity. Hence, The Fallen Sun is a movie where a sadistic mass blackmailer gets Luther locked up before embarking on an untempered mission of chaos and carnage.

But Luther’s jump to the big screen is not cynically motivated — it’s perfect timing. Elba and Luther creator Neil Cross have voiced their eagerness for a Luther film for over a decade, and not only is Elba now a bigger draw than when the show was airing, but he’s also back in character most audiences — both in Britain and America — most associate him with. (Well, maybe apart from his arc on The Office.)