Luther to get a movie prequel

Much acclaimed BBC crime drama ‘Luther’, which stars Idris Elba as a maverick police inspector, will get a movie prequel according to writer Neil Cross.

Speaking at the Edinburgh TV Festival, Cross said: “I’ve written the script and we hope to get the film made next year.”

[Warning: plot spoilers below]

Cross said the prequel would chart Luther’s rise to the top, and feature characters who have been written out of the TV show.

[Idris Elba wants 'Inbetweeners Movie' role]

“Idris is a brilliant leading man and we’ve hoped to turn Luther into a movie for a long time” said Cross. “It will follow his career in the earlier days, when he is still married to Zoe, and the final scene in the film is the first of the initial TV series.”

Justin Ripley (Warren Brown) - who exited in the last series - will return, as will Luther’s dead wife Zoe (Indira Varma) and traitorous colleague Ian Reed (Steven Mackintosh).

But we think the timeline means there is no room for Ruth Wilson, who played Alice Morgan in the show.

Elba, who first shot to fame playing Stringer Bell in ‘The Wire’, has been making his mark on Hollywood in the past year. He's even been rumoured as a potential James Bond.

He starred in big budget action flick ‘Pacific Rim’ earlier this summer and will play Nelson Mandela in biopic ‘Long Walk to Freedom’, which is released in the UK in January. Watch the trailer below.

Does the world need a ‘Luther’ film, or should it stay on TV? Let us know in the comments below.