Luther: Creator of BBC series provides season 5 update, says movie version 'absolutely' still in pipeline

Shooting on four new new episodes starts January 2018

The fifth series of Luther is set to begin production in a matter of weeks.

It was announced back in June that series co-creator Neil Cross had signed Idris Elba up to return as the grizzled detective for four brand new episodes expected to drop in 2018.

“We’re in prep right now and we’re doing a bit of casting and we start shooting in January. For some reason, I always seem to shoot in the depths of winter,” Neil Cross told Deadline.

Interest in a continuation of John Luther's story was sparked by both Elba and Cross who expressed a desire to maybe make a big-screen version following its overseas success - something that Cross states is “absolutely” still in the pipeline.

"The fact is that Idris and I are bound in this shared relationship with this character and every TV [season] we think it’s going to be the end, not least because Idris is a very busy and has a successful career but we always miss him when it’s over and then I start coming up with ideas and we always come back for more. For no other reason than we love doing it. Hopefully in some incarnation, the character will continue."

The series, which co-stars Ruth Wilson, Warren Brown and Indira Varma, began in 2010 and generated a cult fanbase throughout its four seasons. It is unknown whether Wilson's beloved anti-hero Alice Morgan will return, but here's hoping.

Cross is also working on Hulu series Hard Sun, a six-part sci-fi series starring Agyness Deyn and Jim Sturgess following two detectives who discover proof that the end the world has a fixed date.

Luther is expected to return to BBC One in 2018.