Great news, Luther fans. We're not only getting a fifth season, but a film as well.

Writer-creator Neil Cross is working on a film script that will tie into the end of Season 5, star Idris Elba told Variety.

'We are really advancing on getting a movie version up on the screen," said Elba. “Neil is beavering away” – er, which we assume is Britspeak for "working hard" – "on writing this thing."

Besides "Luther," Cross wrote the screenplay for horror film "Mama" and several episodes of "MI-5."

Elba added, "'Luther' has all the ingredients to echo those classic films of the 90s like 'Seven' and 'Along Came a Spider."

Well, one of those is a classic and the other... not so much. They do both have Morgan Freeman in them, however. And at least one dead blonde. Is that a clue, Idris?

He also promised the big-screen version will have "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... wherever there is crime Luther will go."

Elba has previously said that if a movie was going to happen, then "this show is essentially a segue to that," so expect it to tie in to whatever happens in the Season 5 finale.

As for what we can expect in the next season, Alice (Ruth Wilson) is back and "she isn’t here to give me Christmas cards, she’s here to give me a headache," Elba said.

Wilson, of course, was happy to return as Luther's sociopathic crime advisor. "Yeah, I was keen to come back and get these two back together," she said. And of course, it's one of her favorite roles. "Alice is like a naughty girl. It is really fun to do. She plays many different roles, and she’s got lots of different wigs."

New characters in Season 5 include Luther's new partner, Catherine Halliday, played by Wunmi Mosaku. Elba describes the character as “a newer style detective with ethics."

Of course, that means conflict with Luther. "[Halliday]'s really bright," said Mosaku. "She’s the brains and she’s not afraid to speak up, but still… [Luther is] the boss. She wants to learn, but she wants to stick to the rules. They are like chalk and cheese, but they work well together.”

As for the three-year break since Season 4, Elba said, "It's one of those shows that needs to be made into bite sizes because it is very dark, and I think for Neil Cross’, the producers’ and my sanity I don’t think we can do this the whole time. I think we like it that way personally, and the audience and the fans have grown to know it doesn’t come every year."

Which suggests that "Luther: The Movie" (or whatever it ends up being called) won't follow too soon after Season 5 wraps.

"Luther" Season 5 airs in the first week of January in the U.K. and sometime later in 2019 in the U.S.

[Via Variety]