Lupin fans, the wait is nearly over! Lupin Part 4 premieres on Netflix on Oct. 23, with Omar Sy reprising his by-now iconic role as the French gentleman thief Assane Diop. The fourth season, or “part” as the streamer calls it, is looking to make a splash with even more oomph, with Sy co-producing the latest installment via his production firm Carrousel Studios.
Lupin was created by George Kay in collaboration with François Uzan; Marie Roussin, Florent Meyer and Tigran Rosine also participated in the formation of the series inspired by Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin character. The series is produced by Gaumont in collaboration with Carrousel, with Sy also on board as a showrunner, alongside Louis Leterrier.
Lupin, his family, a nemesis and his police “friends” return in the fourth season. Sy is back opposite the likes of Ludivine Sagnier, Antoine Gouy, Soufiane Guerrab, Shirine Boutella, along with Théo Christine as the now older son Raoul and Laïka Blanc-Francard.
“Four years after the end of Lupin Part 3, Assane is still in prison,” reads a Netflix synopsis. “For him, Lupin is no more: He wants to serve out his sentence and keep the promise he made to his son to go and meet their family in Senegal. But his plans are turned upside down by a mysterious announcement signed by ‘Lupin’: Multiple museums are to be hit with simultaneous heists. In spite of heightened security, the thefts go off as planned. Assane proclaims his innocence, but everything points to his guilt. A camera even shows him in one of the museums during a robbery in which Captain Belkacem is seriously injured. To prove his innocence and unmask the copycat, Assane must escape and don the Lupin costume once more.”
The first and second seasons of Lupin rank as the number 5 and number 9 most popular non-English series on Netflix. The series has reached the Netflix top 10 in more than 90 countries around the world. According to the streamer, seasons 1-3 of Lupin have contributed more than €90 million ($100 million) to the French economy.
THR caught up with Sy via video call to discuss the return of Lupin, which the global streamer calls “one of the most popular non-English productions in Netflix’s history,” three years after Part 3. And he shared how the creative team worked to take Lupin to another level.
Lupin is back, but it took a few years for the new fourth season. What did you try to keep or change about the series?
It’s really complicated when you have a show that’s successful. How and why do you go back? So we tried to keep what we had and what we think made the success of the show, but at the same time, you need novelty.
You need [to have] new adventure, to propose something new, entertaining and surprising. Because that show is a lot about surprises. So that’s why we took our time to find a way to have the right balance.
I got to watch the first episode of Part 4. Is it just me or does it look and feel a bit like a movie blockbuster — with bigger visuals, more involved action, everything feeling a little bigger?
Thank you for saying that because it’s exactly what we wanted to propose. How can we be bigger, add more production value, go further on the action, on the drama. Everything has to go deeper and deeper. So we really wanted to have exactly that, and I’m so glad that you’re saying that. That’s why we made this season.
There’s [also] a bigger bad guy. The rival is stronger, smarter. We want to push our characters to something different and more complicated.
Speaking of the characters. Part 4 brings back the family, friends and police characters fans know from past seasons and even Pellegrini. How key was it to have familiar characters return, even if they may show us somewhat different sides this season?
We wanted to go bigger. We wanted surprise, but at the same time, we know that we had our success, and we know that the audience loves the family story and all the characters who are part of the show. So we wanted to have everyone back, but in a different setup.
Without spoiling anything, season 4 starts off with all sorts of big bangs and events.
We wanted to push everything and be almost at the max from the first minute. And then we could see where that could go. That was our challenge and experience for this season.
Is it weird to say I sometimes wish I could be Lupin when watching the show? How is it to step into his shoes for you as an actor?
I always say that Lupin, the character, is my best toy. It’s so good to play with him. That’s also why we’re doing the fourth season because it’s so pleasant, entertaining and also interesting in terms of acting to have that character because in the same show, you have to do action, the drama and sometimes there’s a little bit of a comedy.
Almost having all the genres in the same show with the same character is so unusual. So that’s why it’s so special to be with that character.
How does it feel to have made a popular French character like Lupin beloved around the globe?
We are so proud of it. Lupin is so famous here in France. He’s something we grew up with. We had so many books, shows, movies.
But then when we brought it back, it was covered by dust, an old thing that we brought back to life. After the show [launch], we have kids reading the books again. The publisher was so glad, saying thank you because the book is back, and on top of that, the world is discovering that character. So we are very, very, very proud and so happy.
What do you think will surprise Lupin fans the most about Part 4?
I don’t want to spoil anything, so I cannot answer. We have a lot of usual things and some twists. I promise you a lot of fun, but I cannot say more.
What was the hardest thing about season 4?
That season was very, very intense. Usually we take a break, but on this one, because I had something to do afterwards, we shot without [break]. We went on.
That was very, very challenging, especially because on this season we had a lot of action too, so it was very physical. But at the end, we are very happy and proud. It was a struggle for a moment, but we’re here, and we’re happy with the show.