‘That’s an… original question!’ Humouring me with a generous chuckle, Idris Elba entertains a meta curveball of an opener as he hunches beefily over a table in a bustling London hotel brasserie. Which Idris Elba movie would his Metropolitan Police detective, John Luther, be most into? Unsurprisingly, it turns out not to be Zootropolis or Hobbs and Shaw. ‘He might be into Beasts of No Nation, just because there’s a military fucked-upness about it that I think he can relate to,’ he muses, reflecting on his character’s upbringing as a ‘military kid travelling around with his dad’.
The gnarly backstory, the tweed coat, the red tie, the bashed-up Volvo: they’re all present and correct in the big-screen Luther outing that he’s here to chat about, too. After five high-rating TV seasons, one of London’s favourite sons has delivered his much-loved TV detective – a kind of growly, post-millennial Sherlock – on to a bigger canvas courtesy of Netflix’s Luther: The Fallen Sun. There are nasty new villains (Andy Serkis’s serial killer, David Robey), old pals (Dermot Crowley’s long-suffering Schenk) and new star names (Widows’ Cynthia Erivo’s senior detective is now busting Luther’s balls from police HQ) – as well as a grand guignol nastiness that fans of the show will recognise.
There’s a definite fucked-upness here, too. The Fallen Sun is an upscaled showcase of London’s dark side, with the odd nod to James Bond that might seem surprising considering the actor has been pursued by links to the role for nigh-on a decade. As it turns out, Elba is happy to tackle them one last time.
