Luther movie to get major budget boost as it is poached by streaming giant
A HUGE BBC drama has been poached by Netflix for a big money makeover after being held back by a 'comically small' budget.
The BBC is known for producing top quality dramas, most recently Happy Valley.
One of its other successes has been Luther, and fans are eagerly awaiting the film version with Idris Elba once again back in the titular role.
However, the feature length film, titled Luther: The Fallen Sun, will not air on the Beeb, but instead will be released by Netflix.
It will hit cinemas first from February 24 for a limited period before arriving on the streaming service from March 10, and now Idris has explained why the switch from the BBC to Netflix happened.
He said: "We have an incredible appetite to satisfy the audience that love Luther in its current form as a TV show, but also bring it into a new sphere with the film version.
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"I don’t want to be controversial but people imagine me as Bond and that’s great, but I can’t wait for them to see me as Luther in this movie. Our ambition is to take it there."
Meanwhile the show's creator Neil Cross previously told Radio Times: "What we’ve been able to do - having delivered every episode of Luther on budgets which are comically small - is to have a wider canvas and a bigger budget to tell the kind of stories that we’ve always wanted to be able to tell.”
Luther first aired on the BBC in 2010 and ran for five series.
The most recent series finished in January 2019 and fans have been chomping at the bit for the film version.
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Idris, 50, spent years trying to get a Luther film greenlit but knew it would be "a big challenge, economically".
Luther: The Fallen Sun has been billed as an "epic continuation" of the series and will see a serial killer terrorising London.
Luther: The Fallen Sun will be released in cinemas on February 24 and on Netflix on March 10.