Netflix gave a streaming release to Luther: The Fallen Sun on March 10. The feature film continues to follow the crime fighting journey of the disturbed sleuth, John Luther (Idris Elba). Directed by Jaime Payne from a script by franchise writer Neil Cross, the film marks a continuation of the fan favorite detective's field work after having a successful multi season run on the BBC series, Luther. However, as it is standard practice for the start of most Luther episodes, they begin with a crime and a victim and the feature film is not dissimilar. However, writer Cross revealed that the film's start had been altered from his original vision.
When the film begins, the first victim we meet is Callum Aldrich (James Bamford), a young man who is kidnapped and killed by millionaire serial killer, David Robey (Andy Serkis). While speaking to The Independent, however, Cross highlights that the initial script had the first victim penned down as a woman, until Netflix asked the writer to consider a review. “For reasons I fear to interrogate too deeply, the female victims resonate and scare more deeply,” Cross reveals. “So, there was a defiant part of me in the first draft of this, which was, ‘Oh fuck it – the victim is going to be a woman because that’s more frightening.’”
Luther had in the past received criticism on what audiences perceived was a skewed number of female victims in its episodes. In this case, Cross reveals that a change of the first victim was an alteration that the streamer wanted and one he ultimately accepted, which in he believes with hindsight was right. “That’s the one moment where Netflix said, ‘Do you want to think about this a bit?’” Cross said. “And I did say, ‘Well, it’ll be less scary.’ I worried that it might be. But actually, they were right.” It certainly was not less scary and the death of Callum saw the introduction of DCI Odette Raine (Cynthia Erivo) who stepped up to lead the hunt for the killer.
Cross Still Defends the Series
While converting from a series to a film provided difficulty in some moments, the team were ultimately able to pull it off, including shooting at Piccadilly Circus. Looking back now to the discussion about the first victim and the criticism the series faced for its perceived imbalance, Cross notes that while he understands why people were uncomfortable, he mounts a defense for the show stating it had more male victims than it did female. “It’s been mentioned before that people are uncomfortable with the victimization of women in Luther — not unfairly,” he said. “The odd thing, though, is that, if one were to do the maths, there are many, many more male victims in Luther than there are women.”
Luther: The Fallen Sun is available to stream on Netflix.