-->

"Luther" Prequel Movie Could Be Coming in 2014



Despite not being cast as Batman or the new Doctor, Idris Elba still lives in our hearts and minds as first Stringer Bell from The Wire (which everyone tells you is brilliant and that you must watch it, and by God they're right) and more recently as tough cop with tough problems Luther in the BBC series of the same name. 





Constantly accused of murders he didn't commit and occasionally committing murders he does commit, John Luther is constantly on the bloody edge. If you haven't watched the show yet, don't carry on reading this because it will contain spoilers.



You saw that? SPOILERS! Ok?



Right, so the third series just finished on regular TV and will hit BluRay and Netflix in the next few months, and that's your lot of Luther. There's no plans for a fourth series, but creator Neil Cross and Mr Elba himself are hoping to bring the determined if morally difficult Luther to the big screen with a prequel adventure.




Set prior to everything going horribly wrong in his life, the movie would find Luther still married to his ex-late wife Zoe and still a somewhat trustworthy presence on the police force. The script, which is already written at least in an early form, follows DI Luther in the formative days of his career; "the final scene in the film is the first of the initial TV series." which is undeniably cool and sort of suggests we'll get to see how Luther runs down that paedo he drops through a factory in episode one.



A prequel does mean we're unlikely to see anything of sexy homicidal maniac Alice Morgan, which will leave a lot of fans disappointed, but there's been talk of giving her a spin off series so keep your eyes open for that.



The chances of this coming to pass are pretty good, considering Elba's current star power after Pacific Rim and Prometheus, plus his upcoming role as Nelson Mandela which is likely to get him an Oscar nomination as well as some other gold for the mantlepiece. He's a bankable commodity to have in your picture, which is one reason why his name is so frequently bandied about in terms of taking over various franchises. 



He's been tipped for the Bond job after Daniel Craig calls it quits following his next movie, and before Affleck got the call for the cowl he was many people's preferred Batman.



The Luther movie is a great step for the series and could pull in a bigger audience for the existing episodes because a prequel leading into series one is much more appealing to newcomers than a follow-up that you have to watch three series to understand.



Good idea? Bad idea? Vent your opinions in the comments below.



Words by Gazz Wood


Gazz Wood is a writer from The Northern Film School at Leeds Met University. As well as writing for Wireless he can also be heard on the monthly podcast Possibly of Interest with TV Producer Howard Cohen and special guests from the world of British TV and Cinema, plus his own weekly show Gazz Wood Has A Podcast. He can also be followed on Twitter @GazzPH90