David Tennant will reprise the legendary role of comic creator Bryan Talbot‘s Luther Arkwright in a long-awaited sequel box set — 18 years after the first full-cast audio adaptation — set for release in June 2023.
Big Finish released their first audio adventure, Luther Arkwright: The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, based on Bryan Talbot’s apocalyptic comic book series published from 1978, back in 2005.
Soon, listeners will be invited back into this fantastical world with an audio adaptation of the internationally acclaimed sequel, Heart of Empire, released in 1999. The epic story centres around Luther Arkwright’s daughter Victoria (played by Georgina Hellier), set 23 years after the original tale.
Multi-award-winning David Tennant returns as the title role in The Adventures of Luther Arkwright: Heart of Empire, alongside returning cast members India Fisher (as Queen Anne), Siri O’Neal (as Rose), Robert Jezek (as Karl), and Jez Fielding (as Harry Fairfax and Dr John Dee).
“Luther Arkwright was introduced to me by Big Finish with the script of the first instalment,” notes David Tennant. “When I read it, I was captivated.
“There’s something very hypnotic about the world that Bryan Talbot creates,” he continued. It was hugely appealing! What a treat that we’ve gotten to revisit this world and these characters.”
“After their great adaptation of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright, I can’t wait to hear Big Finish’s production of the second story, Heart of Empire,” says Bryan. “I’m especially pleased that David Tennant is reprising his role as Luther Arkwright.”
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright: Heart of Empire is now available to pre-order as a collector’s edition 2-disc CD box set (plus download, for just £15.99) or digital download only (for just £12.99) from bigfinish.com.
The full-cast audio dramas in this box set, adapted by Mark Wright, are “Daughter of Albion” and “Cataclysm”. This release contains adult material and may not be suitable for younger listeners.
“I’m honoured once again to have adapted the work of the incredible Bryan Talbot and see David Tennant return to a role that we first worked on together back in 2005,” says Mark.
Director and Executive Producer Jason Haigh-Ellery said: “I’m so excited to be returning to Bryan’s work with Heart of Empire. I first came across The Adventures of Luther Arkwright in a small comic shop whilst at university. I was immediately caught up in the amazing world that Bryan created and the vivid characters that inhabited that world. It was truly ahead of its time.
“It’s been wonderful working with the original cast,” he continued. “David, India, Siri, Robert and Jez have all shown such love for the original production and have enjoyed working with each other again after all this time. They are joined by new characters played by Emily Haigh, Georgina Hellier and Ahmed Hamad who all bring something new to the series.”
Producer Heather Challands added: “The Luther Arkwright series is so rich with material, spanning parallel worlds, involving supernatural powers, reconfiguring historical events and figures. It’s just full to the brim with loud, unapologetic Sci-Fi.
“David Tennant has done many roles for Big Finish over the years, and has gone on to do so much since he last played Luther. It’s wonderful to see him return to that role as Luther comes face-to-face with the daughter who he left behind…”
• The Adventures of Luther Arkwright: Heart of Empire is now available to pre-order for just £15.99 (collector’s edition CD box set + download) or £12.99 (download only) from the Big Finish website
All the above prices include the special pre-order discount and are subject to change after general release. From November 2022, new pre-order prices will apply for unreleased box sets.
Featuring The Adventures of Luther Arkwright and Heart of Empire in a single paperback edition. In a swirling multiverse of endless possibilities and incalculable dangers, malign forces manipulate history through countless timelines and act to wreak destruction across universes. But the fate of these infinite existences depends on one man, an anomaly who exists in but a single universe, a being of vast psychic power capable of traveling between realities – Luther Arkwright…
• The third Luther Arkwright graphic novel, The Legend of Luther Arkwright, published by Jonathan Cape in the UK is available to buy in bookshops (Amazon Affiliate Link) | Read our review
• Bryan Talbot is online at www.bryan-talbot.com
Please note that Big Finish is currently operating a digital-first release schedule. The mail-out of collector’s edition CDs may be delayed due to factors beyond our control, but all purchases of this release unlock a digital copy that can be immediately downloaded or played on the Big Finish app from the release date.
The founder of downthetubes, which he established in 1998. John works as a comics and magazine editor, writer, and on promotional work for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He is currently editor of Star Trek Explorer, published by Titan – his third tour of duty on the title originally titled Star Trek Magazine.
Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine, Babylon 5 Magazine, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics. He has also edited several comic collections, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”.
He’s the writer of “Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies” for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs” with Dave Hailwood.
Categories: Audio, British Comics, British Comics - Graphic Novels, Comics, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
David Tennant is Luther Arkwright… again!