Netflix had Luther: The Fallen Sun re-written to make the film a little less scary than the original TV series.
Netflix‘s cause for concern in terms of terror were prior criticisms aimed at the BBC series that gave birth to the film. Luther has frequently been spotlighted for its graphic violence against female victims – something that supposedly worried the streaming giant.
According to Luther writer and creator Neil Cross, as reported by LadBible, Netflix were worried about the original script being too “frightening” for audiences as it opened with a female victim. This caused Cross to write a draft which poked fun at Netflix’s concerns – though he eventually relented and changed the film.
Speaking about the back and forth with Netflix, Cross said: “It’s been mentioned before that people are uncomfortable with the victimisation of women in Luther – not unfairly. The odd thing, though, is that, if one were to do the maths, there are many, many more male victims in Luther than there are women.”
Alluding to the all too real violence women often experience, the creator of Idris Elba’s John Luther character said that audiences mostly remember the female characters more because they “resonate and scare more deeply”.
However, Cross had initially planned to have a female victim as he thought this would be “more frightening,” and even wanted to argue with Netflix bosses about the request.
Cross said: “There was a defiant part of me in the first draft of this [that thought] ‘Oh fuck it – the victim is going to be a woman because that’s more frightening’.” However, he went on to add: “But actually, they were right.”
The film sees the brilliant but disgraced copper, John Luther, breaking out of prison to hunt down a sadistic serial killer who is terrorising London. Elba has previously spoken out about his hopes for Luther to mimic Bond, in living on beyond one actor.
Luther: The Fallen Sun is available to stream on Netflix now.