Idris Elba Has A Brand New Series On The Way

Idris Elba has a new series on the way and this one will team him up with a critically-acclaimed director and showrunner.

By Doug Norrie | Updated

idris elba

Idris Elba is no stranger to hit series, especially ones with a fair amount of critical acclaim. And he could have another one on the way soon. The actor has signed on for a new project with some familiar faces and the concept is looking very cool. TV Line has it that Elba will star in Hijack for Apple TV+ and he will be working with George Kay of Lupin fame. There is a good chance this series will score well across critics and audiences alike considering the players involved and the concept as well. 

According to the early details, Hijack will be a seven-episode series, told in real-time throughout and focuses on a plane that’s been hijacked after leaving London. Idris Elba is going to play a hostage negotiator who is working to bring the plane back safely. It looks like his character will be on the ground during this with the action shifting between what’s happening up in the air and how the folks on the ground are dealing with the hijacking. If we think this is a 24-like series, with the clock continually ticking through the tensest of moments, then there are, for sure, a lot of pieces that can really work here.

And of course, having George Kay on board with Idris Elba as executive producer and showrunner gives considerable upside to the series especially considering what he’s done with Lupin on Netflix. It was one of the streamer’s more popular offerings, telling the story of a professional thief who’s come back to avenge the death of his father. The two-part series garnered nearly universal acclaim from critics, scoring 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. It won and was nominated for a number of secondary awards for television programming. 

idris elba luther movie

For his part, Idris Elba has had his hand in a number of different productions of late. He joined as part of Sonic the Hedgehog 2, voicing the character of Knuckles the Echidna for the second flick in the franchise. He’ll also be taking the character over to a new series that will see Knuckles as the primary character. And Elba will return to his Luther character who he’s played through five series on the BBC. There is a movie planned for the character which should hit the big screen sometime next year. 

Idris Elba has a couple of other higher-profile productions in the works as well. He’ll star in Three Thousand Years of Longing with George Miller writing and directing. It’s set to be a fantasy tale with Elba playing a Djinn, or a form of a genie who grants wishes to Tilda Swinton’s character. It will debut at Cannes later next month. And finally, Idris Elba is set to star in Beast which will have him playing a father who is trying to make his across the savannah while being hunted by a lion who’s out for a little human blood. So the future is bright for the talented actor and Hijack should just add to the critically acclaimed list.