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'Luther' returns to BBC America with chilling new case

Idris Elba's name recently came up in a discussion of plausible front-runners to play James Bond once Daniel Craig surrendered the role.

At the moment, however, Elba's heart and mind are focused on another complex, emotionally damaged character: his Golden Globe Award-winning role as London Detective Chief Inspector John Luther, to which he returns for the fourth time in a nightlong special event “Luther” premiering Thursday, Dec. 17, on BBC America.

As fans will remember, the last time we saw the character, Luther had prevailed against his latest adversary, but was completely devastated by the murder of his best friend and loyal partner, Detective Sgt. Justin Ripley (Warren Brown). Since then, Luther has been keeping a low profile and nursing his wounds.

“He wants to try and have a positive life, and that's where we meet him at this stage of the show,” the 43-year-old actor says. “He's only human and he can only take so much, so he has found himself a little nook in the world and he just wants to chill out.”

That temporary solitude is broken by two police colleagues (Darren Boyd and Rose Leslie) who plead for Luther's help in stopping a cannibalistic serial killer who is terrorizing their city, consuming body parts as he goes. Reluctantly, Luther shakes off his despair and undertakes one of the most chilling cases of his career.

“He's seen as a legend, but his colleagues are like, ‘Is he OK? Is he going to be all right?'” Elba explains. “There's a wonderment about whether he will be effective as usual. There's definitely a sense of awe from the people around him, but they're also not sure whether he will be any good anymore.”

The actor, who has major roles in upcoming 2016 feature films “Star Trek Beyond” and “The Jungle Book,” says he's happy to be able to give his fans another chapter of the series.

“The show is exactly what it says on the can: It's a thrill ride,” Elba says. “The fans love how scary it is, and we definitely have not changed that DNA. ‘Luther' has evolved and grown a little bit, but the show is still what it always has been. There are some very scary characters, as usual. It's a how-catch-'em, not a will-he-catch-'em. Since it's over two hours, it feels a bit more like a film. I'm really excited, because it's kind of reprogramming the audience for what I eventually hope will be a ‘Luther' film one day.”

Elba says he and “Luther” creator Neil Cross are confident that big-screen adaptation is just a question of “when,” not “if.”

“We just haven't decided where we want to pick up the film, in terms of whether it's going to be an origin story or something that starts off somewhere else,” he explains. “I think the big-screen ‘Luther' will feel more like (James) Bond. It'll be my Bond.”

John Luther (Idris Elba) tries to put his loss behind him when "Luther" returns to BBC America on Thursday, Dec. 17.

“Luther”

8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 17, on BBC America

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