Variety are reporting that Neil Cross, creator of the BBC's Golden Globe-winning cop drama Luther, would love to write a US-set spin-off for the show's popular serial killer love-interest Alice (Ruth Wilson).
Speaking to Variety, Cross confirmed that "the BBC is very interested in the project. The only real question would be how many and how often we would do it—whether it would be a one-off miniseries or a returning miniseries, a co-production or not. The truth is I absolutely adore Alice. I don't like to imagine my life without Alice in some way or other. Even if I didn't sell this thing, I would still end up writing the miniseries. It's something peculiar, but she's far more clever than me, far more witty than me, far more everything than me. I've got storylines going around in my head like trains. We're kind of thinking very loosely of a mix between The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Last Seduction. I'd love to move between the London of Luther and America."
But will John Luther be a part of Alice's new adventures? Not yet, according to Cross. "The great thing is they can survive independently of each other. Each of those actors is so kind of secretly magnetic. [Idris is] able to pull that intense relationship out of many, many actors he’s worked with, and I think Ruth as Alice would be able to do the same. I think the first one would probably be a Luther-free zone, because their stories have diverged to a large extent, but there would be nothing to suggest they couldn’t come together again--either by this vehicle or a Luther movie."
Oh yes, the oft-mentioned movie version of TV's Luther. Cross also offered an update on that potential project. "We've got lots and lots of movie interest, and Idris and I [are being] very careful about what kind of movie we choose to do. We've got all kinds of criteria of how and when we should do the movie, and we just need to pick our offer carefully. But I’d love to do it next year."
So there you have it. I get the feeling a Luther movie is going to happen sometimes after the third and final TV series, but I'm not sure if this Alice project will get off the ground. Is Ruth Jones too busy? Her work schedule prevented Alice being a larger part of Luther series 2, after all. Then again, how can any actress turn down the lead role in an American-set drama about a genius serial killer? I'd like to see it, too. I just hope Cross can make his dream a reality.
What do you think? Is a spin-off for Alice a good and logical idea, or is the character overrated? Would you watch Alice's antics across the pond, sleeping with and killing various suitors?
