Red tie, gray wool coat and always on the hunt for the worst serial killers rampant in Britain: DCI John Luther is back and he’s back for real. After five seasons of the “Luther” series, Netflix has dedicated an entire movie to the badass detective, played by Idris Elba, available to stream from March 10. Over the years (the first season of ‘Luther’ ran in 2010 and the last in 2019), the cop has put a number of psycho killers under lock and key and built a reputation as an astute investigator. However, fans of the series know that Luther often works with substances that are not entirely legal. And now it’s falling on its feet…
In “Luther: The Fallen Sun,” the detective is behind bars and even die-hard “Luther” fans are pretty confused at the beginning of the movie. Did anything happen in Season 5 that warrants jail time? Is it necessary to watch all 20 episodes of the series to understand the Netflix movie? No!
Why is Luther in prison in “The Fallen Sun”?
The BBC gave us five seasons of “Luther”, sometimes with more episodes, sometimes with fewer. The detective has solved all his tricky cases, but often had to resort to means that were decidedly illegal. His friendship with the serial killer Alice (Ruth Wilson), who keeps popping up in Luther’s life, is more than questionable. Not to mention his dealings with and involvement with the London Underground and the mafia. And so it is that at the end of Season 5, Luther is actually arrested and taken away.
Actually a pretty round ending for the series. But Netflix didn’t stop there, and that’s how The Fallen Sun was born. And as mentioned earlier, the inspector at the beginning of the film is actually in prison and has been for several years. However, the season 5 ending isn’t directly fed into the movie – and it isn’t even necessary. Because the Netflix movie should also work without the series at all and generate new “Luther” fans. It’s even been suggested that the new movie’s villain, David Robey (Andy Serkis), is responsible for Luther’s imprisonment – though Robey never played a part in the series and, as mentioned, Luther did indeed commit crimes worthy of jail time.
So Netflix has cleverly weaved together old and new plot elements that even die-hard fans shouldn’t really be bothered by. The fact that Luther himself tells in the film about an unsolved case from his past (which was never addressed in the series) and that he escapes from prison because of it, fits well with Luther’s entire history. So it’s entirely possible to watch and like Luther: The Fallen Sun without ever having seen the series.
That’s why you should watch the BBC series “Luther” anyway
While the creators of the Netflix feature film (who, by the way, were also responsible for the series) placed great value on “The Fallen Sun” that captures the essence of the brilliant British commissioner, the series has much more charm than that film. In fact, lead actor Idris Elba also feared that the much larger Netflix budget could change “Luther,” he explained in an interview with rich cheated. “It’s dangerous when you come off TV and go to a movie and spend a lot of money on it. The character of the show changes in the blink of an eye,” explained Elba, but assured he was very careful about “Luther-Land.” keep it as it always was.
In fact, “Luther” also works wonderfully without the countless and elaborate action sequences and gigantic sets that “The Fallen Sun” has to offer. Maybe even better. After all, it was always John Luther himself who made the manhunt in the dark, unspectacular streets of London so exciting. While it’s not necessary to watch the Luther series to understand The Fallen Sun, we highly recommend the BBC production!
In addition to Luther: The Fallen Sun, you can also find all five seasons of Luther on Netflix. You can watch the trailer for the first season here: