Luther season 4 UK release date: Idris Elba returns in 'evolved' miniseries

Elba plays the lead as DCI John Luther in the popular BBC crime drama

(BBC)

Idris Elba will officially be returning for the fourth miniseries of Luther at 9pm on Tuesday 15 December.

The premiere date has finally been announced by BBC One, after it was revealed that the two-episode special would air as a three-hour event on BBC America two days later.

British actor Elba, who plays the lead as crime-fighting DCI John Luther, tweeted a 10-second teaser. “You scared of me?” he says in a creepy voice-over. “You should be.”

The new storyline, written by creator Neil Cross and directed by Sam Miller, sees Luther battle to solve a case about a cannibalistic serial killer.

Rose Leslie, Darren Boyd, Laura Haddock, Michael Smiley, John Heffernan, Patrick Malahide and Dermot Crowley have also been confirmed to star.

The last series of Luther was widely believed to be its last but Elba recently said that neither himself nor Cross were “satisfied with the ending of the last one”.

“It felt like there were some unanswered questions,” he told Digital Spy. “[Series four] feels very much likes series one to three but again we’ve evolved. The whole show’s grown a little bit.”

Elba is a fan of the limited series, believing smaller chunks to be “better and more impactful”. He isn’t ruling out a possible Luther movie further down the line, describing the upcoming run as “a pilot for the film”.