Idris Elba receives some brutal treatment in first Luther season 5 footage

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

For some, Idris Elba will always be Heimdall; for others, Stringer Bell, Krall, Roland Deschain, or any of the other great characters which the actor has played over the years, but to me, Elba will always be DCI John Luther. Created by Neil Cross, the BBC series follow the obsessive, brilliant, and occasionally violent detective as he's tasked with hunting down some of London's most dangerous killers, but his obsession makes it difficult to avoid becoming consumed by the darkness of the crimes he investigates. As Idris Elba's star has risen considerably since Luther first began, the last several seasons of the show have left fans wondering if that would be it, but thankfully the gang has gotten back together once again for a fifth installment of Luther.

We still don't know all that much about what the upcoming season will bring us, but BBC One released the first footage in the form of a preview which finds John Luther receiving some brutal treatment at the hands of gangster George Cornelius (Patrick Malahide), who seems to think that Luther might just know something about the disappearance of his son, Alastair. Creator Neil Cross returned to pen the four-part fifth season, and seemed quite eager to step back into the mind of John Luther when the new series was first announced.

Now what? It’s a question Idris and I get asked a lot. What happened to John Luther after we last saw him striding unbowed through the streets of his city, his blood red London? It can’t be over, can it? There’s so much we don’t know. So much unfinished business. The thing is, we’ve been asking ourselves the same question. Because we love John and wonder what he’s up to. And as for me, I’m scared of the monsters. The face at the window. The hand under the bed. The shadow at the end of the street. Who’s going to stop them, if not John Luther? In the end, we picked up the phone to some old friends and asked if they’d like to find out what happens next. It turns out, they would. So that’s what we’re going to do. We’re going to find out what happens next. Now what? Luther’s coming back. That’s what.

As for when the fifth season of Luther will debut, we're not sure; all BBC One would say is that it's "coming soon."