In “Fallen Sun,” Luther finds himself witnessing a mass killing in Piccadilly Circus, orchestrated by Andy Serkis’ David Robey. The serial killer, who’s also present to observe the grim scene, then escapes Luther — himself on the run after escaping prison — by fleeing into the Underground and disappearing onto the tracks and down a tunnel. Luther then pursues him to one of the abandoned Tube stations where a fight ensues.
Those disused areas of the Underground are actually quite extensive and have existed for some time, which isn’t surprising considering the first London Underground train rolled out all the way back in 1863. Over the following 160 years, various tunnels and stations have become disused, some being repurposed as shelters during the Blitz, others being turned into breakout rooms, and more still simply lying abandoned.
All of which made them the perfect filming location for “Fallen Sun” and its gritty vision of London. Specifically, Aldwych Tube Station, which first opened in 1907, played host to Luther and Robey’s clash. The abandoned stop was actually used for almost 100 years before being closed in 1994 due to low passenger numbers — a fate that befell a number of other London Underground stations over the years. During that time it not only served as a World War II bomb shelter, it was also used by the National Gallery and British Museum to house valuable items from their collections during the Blitz. And now, it’s become the site of Luther and Robey’s physical confrontation, providing a suitably ghostly backdrop against which the haunted detective and his ghoulish foe face off.
