The Idris Elba BBC show Luther came to an end after its Season 3 finale in 2013, but it wasn’t long before speculation began to grow from both inside the series’ creative team and from fans regarding whether or not they might get to see more from DCI John Luther after all. The series’ creator Neil Cross even teased the possibility of a prequel film in development for the character before it was revealed that Cross was in talks to write a US remake of the series for Fox, with Elba returning as an executive producer.
It had previously been reported that Fox was looking to begin production for the remake in time for this year’s pilot season, leading many to assume that fans would be seeing a US version of the beloved BBC series sooner than they may have expected.
However, in a new report by THR, it has been revealed that Fox has delayed the American remake of the series out of this year’s busy pilot season. The report states that Fox was looking at Marlon Wayans to replace Elba in this US remake at one point, but due to the rush and clutter of pilot season the network has pressed pause on their search for a lead actor. It appears that Fox plans to pick their search back up once pilot season has concluded, making Luther the first series this year to be pushed out of pilot season.
Luther was set to be yet another American remake of a hit British series by Fox – following the network’s remake of the hit BBC series, Broadchuch. The Fox version brought back the star of the UK version, David Tennant, but changed the title to Gracepoint. Ultimately, Gracepoint was met with mildly positive reviews from both critics and fans of the original series.
The Luther delay shouldn’t come as much of a surprise to fans. The heart and soul of the series arguably came from the performances by Elba in the lead role, as well as Ruth Wilson and Warren Brown’s incredible supporting work. Recasting for the series for US television was always going to be more easily said than done.
Those fans out there upset about the US remake – rest easy! It won’t be long before the original DCI John Luther is back on TV screens around the world. The BBC Luther Season 4 two-part miniseries is currently filming; Elba is back in the titular role; and it’s set to premiere on BBC America later this year.
Luther Season 4 will return on the BBC and BBC America sometime in 2015.
