Idris Elba is reprising his role as DCI John Luther — and Netflix is giving fans an early look.
The actor, 50, is headed back to the small screen in Luther, a previously announced film continuation of the popular BBC One series that ran for five seasons until 2019. And while it won't be released until March 2023, fans can now see a bit of where the story is headed, and specifically where Elba's character is headed, in new images from the film.
In two new images shared by Netflix, Elba's character is shown in both an underground train tunnel and outside walking through a snowy environment. The star told Empire earlier this week that his character of Luther isn't just sticking to the "gritty streets of London" for the film, as the story portrays a "different life of the Luther experience."
"We really peel the onion back here because we had the time and scale to do that," he said. "It also gives Neil [Cross] a lot more, you know, Luther-land to play with, in terms of where Luther can go, how he goes, what the landscape is."
The film, written by Cross and directed by Jamie Payne, began production earlier in the month. Elba told Empire that even though the film has a bigger budget, it will remain true to the series.
"It's really dangerous when expanding from television to film to throw a lot of money at it, and for that moment to change the characteristics of the show," he said. "I wanted to make sure that even though we had a bigger budget, [we didn't] distort the parameters of Luther-land too much. We do amplify the action and do amplify the stakes. But [Season 3's] man-under-the-bed moment? That don't cost you much money. Those moments are still intact."
Luther isn't the only project that Elba has taken on as of late for the streaming giant, as the movie star told PEOPLE in October that narrating the Netflix series Human Playground was all about "broadening perspective."
Elba both voices the documentary itself and wrote an introduction to the accompanying Human Playground photo book, shot and written by Belgian photographer Hannelore Vandenbussche. The actor explained that working on the project — which focuses on "evolution of play across the globe," per Netflix — helped open his mind to what people can accomplish.
"This documentary, this team, literally widens my point of view on sports, on being an athlete, widen my perspective on endurance and what human beings can do, what they're capable of," Elba told PEOPLE. "And so if people are watching this at home and going, 'Whoa. I struggle just to get to the gym,' that's okay."
"Because there's other ways you can get that same feeling from the gym," he added. "You might be able to just go for a walk, and walk further than you've ever done before. But in your own way, you can push yourself. You can expand."
And while he may be walking through snow in one of the new Luther photos, Elba explained to PEOPLE that the ice divers featured in Human Playground's first episode reminded him of a time he bathed in "really, really cold water" in Finland.
"Honestly, my eyeballs froze over how cold it was. I was in shock, but I felt so incredible," Elba said. "And then going in, obviously, to do the other extreme was incredible. And I realized that, wow, I don't have the mindset like someone who jumps into ice and swims and holds their breath."
