SPOILER: Fate of Luther season six is finally revealed by creator Neil Cross

Luther creator Neil Cross has revealed there will definitely ‘not be a season six’ of the cult BBC series. 

Speaking to Australia’s Insider magazine on Sunday, the 51-year-old was forthcoming with his outright dismissal of sixth season for the popular British psychological crime drama.

‘There is not going to be a season six — definitively no season six,’ he told the publication, but gave fans a glimpse of hope for Luther to live on in other ways.

British actor Idris Elba has played passionate detective John Luther since the series’ first season in 2010.

Idris, 48, is currently in Sydney, Australia, as he film his new movie, Three Thousand Years of Longing.

Luther creator Neil Cross said his move to axe the series was due to him always wanting to focus on the character and the story as opposed to just ‘churning it out like sausages’.

Neil is instead expected to announce that Luther’s story will be transformed into  films.

He said: ‘But Idris, [director] Jamie Payne, and I will shortly have some exciting news to share. There’s gonna be more later, but it’s not going to be season six.’  

Films: He continued: ‘But Idris, [director] Jamie Payne, and I will shortly have some exciting news to share. There’s gonna be more later, but it’s not going to be season six,’ Neil said

The psychological drama featuring hard-bitten but brilliant Detective Chief Inspector John Luther ran for five hugely successful seasons between 2010 and 2019. 

Neil hinted back in October that he could be coming to the big screen in the near future for a feature-length film. 

He told the Radio Times: ‘Ask Idris! We are – I don’t know what I’m allowed to say, which is an answer in of itself! Words are my job and I’ve lost them all.   

Hints: ‘We wanna make more Luther. We’re gonna make more Luther. The how and the why, that’s all to come, but we’re gonna make more Luther,’ Neil said previously 

‘We wanna make more Luther. We’re gonna make more Luther. The how and the why, that’s all to come, but we’re gonna make more Luther.’

Inspired by legendary detective Sherlock Holmes and American sleuth Columbo, the show relies on Luther’s supreme intellect to solve a series of complex crimes across London.   

Reflecting on the show in 2019, Elba admitted he was anxious to see it developed into a feature, and insisted he was keen to get on board at the nearest available opportunity. 

Big hit: The psychological drama featuring Elba as the hard-bitten but brilliant Detective Chief Inspector John Luther ran for five hugely successful seasons between 2010 and 2019

‘I’ve maintained that I’d like to see [Luther] come to a film,’ he told press after the BAFTA awards. ‘That’s what I think we’re headed towards, is a film. I’m looking forward to making that happen… It is happening!

‘With film, the sky is the limit. You can be a little bit more bold with the storylines, and a little bit more international, and a little more up the scale. But John Luther is always going to be John Luther.’  

He added: ‘Neil is beavering away on writing this thing, and I think the remit for the film is to scale it up.

‘It will be more murder, more Volvos, more frowning Luther… essentially we just want to try to take it to a much bigger audience and scale, and perhaps international as well.’ 

With COVID-19 restrictions currently limiting production, a schedule for any potential film is yet to be confirmed. 

Elba has been recognised with a Critics’ Choice Television Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role as Luther, while the show has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards. 

 Awards: Elba has been recognised with a Critics’ Choice Television Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Award for his role as Luther, while the show has been nominated for eleven Primetime Emmy Awards