3 Years Later, Idris Elba's Most Legendary Character Is Officially Back With First Images

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Published Mar 11, 2026, 7:45 PM EDT

Adam Blevins began working in the entertainment industry in 2022 as a Staff Writer for Agents of Fandom, where he progressed to Senior Editor and interviewed talent from Marvel Studios, House of the Dragon, and Planet of the Apes. He joined Collider as a News Author in April 2024, was promoted to a Senior position in December 2024, and has written over 3,000 articles for the site, including exclusives relating to Avengers: Doomsday, The Penguin, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and more. He primarily writes about the latest box office numbers and the hottest movies and TV shows on streaming, while also covering superhero and sci-fi news. He has completed a set visit for The Chosen and even has several months of experience writing Gaming Features at ScreenRant. You can find him on X, LinkedIn, and Muckrack.

Idris Elba is one of the biggest movie stars in the world, and he has been for years, dating back to his performances in Losers and Mandela: Hard Walk to Freedom. Elba has also developed quite a name for himself, starring as Heimdall in a series of MCU movies opposite Chris Hemsworth, and a few years ago, he even crossed the aisle by starring in James Gunn’s DC Suicide Squad movie. Elba has even found himself in a leading role in one of Apple TV’s biggest thriller shows, Hijack, which just recently wrapped up its sophomore season after a three-year gap. It was a big year for the star in 2025, too, as he headlined two of the biggest straight-to-streaming movies of the year in A House of Dynamite (Rebecca Ferguson) and Heads of State (John Cena).

However, the role that first earned Elba his acclaim from both critics and fans is the legendary yet complicated detective, John Luther. Elba played the character in 20 episodes of the mystery series between 2010 and 2019, and a few years ago, he returned to the role in the Netflix original movie, Luther: The Fallen Sun. The film was released on streaming in 2023 and met with mostly positive, albeit slightly controversial, reviews. Netflix even greenlit a sequel to the film, which is now in production and eyeing a release date sometime in 2027. The first behind-the-scenes images of Elba as John Luther surfaced online earlier this week, confirming that the sequel is now in production. You can take a look at the new behind-the-scenes images of Elba in the new John Luther movie here.

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What Else Is Idris Elba Working on Right Now?

In addition to his imminent return as John Luther, Idris Elba also has a handful of other exciting projects in the works. He will star in the Masters of the Universe movie this summer, which is coming to theaters on June 5. He is also expected to reprise his role as Knuckles in the fourth Sonic the Hedgehog movie, which recently cast Kristen Bell as Amy Rose ahead of its planned March 19, 2027, release. He will even star opposite Damson Idris and Viola Davis in Children of Blood and Bone in 2027.

Check out Luther: The Fallen Sun on Netflix and stay tuned to Collider for more updates on the film and coverage of Elba’s future projects.