Cynthia Erivo and Andy Serkis will star alongside Idris Elba in Netflix feature film installment of Luther, continuing the story of the acclaimed crime series.
Netflix is making the feature in association with the BBC.
Neil Cross, who created and wrote the series — which has aired on and off in five short bursts since 2010 — penned the script. Jamie Payne, who directed the last season that consisted of four episodes and whose credits include shows such as The Alienist and Outlander, is helming the feature that begins shooting November.
Luther centers on Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, a brilliant London officer so obsessed with his work that he is willing to go down the darkest of paths and break the stringiest of rules. It has been a veritable showcase for Elba, earning him Critics Choice, Golden Globes and SAG awards as well as Emmy nominations.
In the movie’s story, which is the continuation of the Luther saga, Luther will have to contend with a double threat. Erivo is playing a detective who is also Luther’s nemesis while Serkis is the story’s criminal villain.
Cross and Elba are producing along with Peter Chernin, Jenno Topping and David Ready of Chernin Entertainment. The latter has a deal with Netflix and the streamer released Chernin’s Fear Street Trilogy this summer and next has the big-budget Jason Momoa fantasy, Slumberland.
Executive producing Chernin’s Dan Finlay, BBC Studios’ Priscilla Parish, and Kris Thykier.
Erivo is close to reaching EGOT status, having won an Emmy, Grammy and a Tony as well as receiving two Oscar nominations. She is coming off of starring as Aretha Franklin in Genius: Aretha, the third season of national Geographic’s popular biography series. She is repped by UTA, Authentic Talent and Literary, and Peikoff Mahan Law.
Serkis, known for his ground-breaking work on the Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes triligy, is playing Bruce Wayne’s loyal butler Alfred Pennyworth in next year’s The Batman and will showcase his directing talent with Venom: Let There Be Carnage, which Sony opens Oct. 1. He is repped by CAA and Principal Entertainment.
Source: HollyWood
