Lupin is one of Netflix’s huge international hit series. It may not be drawing the same attention from Jeff Bezos as Squid Game, nor has it developed a huge dedicated fan base like Money Heist, but Lupin was watched by over 70 million households in its first month on the streaming service. It’s definitely one of Netflix’s most popular French-language TV shows. Lupin aired Part 1 and Part 2 in 2021, with Lupin Part 3 expected to arrive on Netflix soon.
Lupin follows Assane Diop (Omar Sy), a gentleman thief who takes inspiration from the Arsène Lupin novels that his father gave him. Lupin Part 1 and Part 2 deal with him trying to get revenge for his father’s death, and it showcases Assane’s life as a father and former family-man. Lupin also highlights Paris in a way unlike how it's normally portrayed in many movies set in Paris. Netflix and the Lupin production team has been keeping much under wraps about Lupin Part 3, but here’s what we know so far about it.
Lupin Part 3 Began Production In Late 2021
In November 2021, Lupin star Omar Sy and Netflix put an image on Twitter to confirm that production on Part 3 had begun. It was a simple image of Sy standing in Paris. Netflix captioned it “guess who’s back and ready to steal the show? Lupin Part 3 is now in production!” Sy captioned his version “Feels good being home! Lupin, Part 3, now in production,” both in English and french.
Since the November production reveal, Sy and Netflix haven’t made any announcements on whether filming is on-going or wrapped in Paris. It’s not surprising that neither have given an update on production, because Netflix doesn’t make it a habit of showcasing when its shows begin and wrap production.
Lupin Part 3 is also likely a show that the streaming service and the Lupin crew want to keep the plot as secretive as possible - probably to help build anticipation for its return.
Lupin Part 3 Starts Season 2
According to Vogue, Lupin Part 3 marks the beginning of Season 2. Vogue even states that Lupin Season 2 will be split into two parts like Season 1. This means that Lupin Part 1 and Part 2 both make up the first season. This makes sense, because these parts premiered on Netflix about five months after each other.
Netflix has split seasons in the past. For example, Ozark's final season has been split into two parts, but they’re just being labeled as Ozark Season 4. Another popular international TV series, Money Heist, also labeled its shows in parts, instead of seasons.
If Vogue’s statement is right, then viewers could see Lupin Part 3 premiere, and Lupin Part 4 premiere not too far after it, if that second part of the season has been put into production already. This also may mean that both parts have five episodes each.
In an interview with Monocle, Lupin head writer and showrunner, George Kay, expressed his hope that Lupin would last far beyond its first two parts:
We’re doing more Lupin, and I don’t know how long that will run specifically, but there [are] big ambitions for it to run [for several seasons].
This seems to imply that Netflix and George Kay hope that Lupin stays one of the hit Netflix shows for a while.
Lupin Part 3 Doesn't Have A Premiere Date Yet, But It Could Arrive In 2022
In an interview with Radio Times, George Kay expressed hope that viewers would see the next season of Lupin next year. He said this about a potential season 2.
We're actively story-lining with real confidence that that's gonna happen, because reaction to the first five episodes [of Season 1] would suggest that we've got every chance that [Season 2] would be coming next year...unless something goes completely wrong!
This interview happened in January 2021, after Lupin Part 1 premiered, but before the next part started. It wasn’t until May 2021 that Lupin Part 3 received its official announcement on Twitter. This means that George Kay was planning on Lupin Part 3 premiering in 2022, but may have not received an official release date from Netflix. If Kay’s plan happens as he states, we may see Lupin Part 3 enter the 2022 Netflix TV schedule as early as spring 2022.
However, since production on Lupin Part 3 only started in November 2021, I think it’s safe to assume that if Lupin Part 3 premieres in 2022, it will be the latter half of the year, in late summer or fall. If Netflix plans to release both new parts within five months of each other, then this may mean a summer and fall or a fall and spring 2023 release. If I had to make a guess, I would predict Lupin Part 3 will probably premiere in the summer and a potential Part 4 in the fall of 2022.
Things Aren’t Completely Over With Assane And Pellegrini In Lupin
Lupin fans know that Part 2 concluded with Assane finally getting some closure on his situation with Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre) but if you think that’s the end of the Pellegrini and Assane saga, then you’re in for disappointment or excitement, depending on your investment in their feud.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Omar Sy shared that there is a lot more to come:
It depends on what's gonna happen next for Pellegrini and everybody else, and even for him. Because it's not completely finished. He's done most of the work, but it's not completely finished. When Episode 10 finished, there's still some questions that we didn't have answered.
We don’t know how Assane and Pellegrini’s relationship will progress in future parts, but it seems like these men still have a lot of battles still to come.
One Of The Plot Points Discussed For Part 3 Was The Introduction Of Sherlock Holmes To This World
We’re not sure if this will make it into Lupin Part 3, especially because it was just an idea discussed and not something that Lupin writer George Kay confirmed, but it’s something we would love to see. In another Radio Times interview, Kay discussed the possibility of Lupin versus Sherlock Holmes. Kay explained that Sherlock Holmes appeared in Maurice Leblanc’s Arsène Lupin books, but was changed to Herlock Sholmes in later books, since permission was never granted by Arthur Conan Doyle to use the character.
Kay said that “there’s some ideas circling around that” about the possibility of Herlock Sholmes entering the world of Lupin. He mentioned the chance of a Herlock Sholmes fan being like a foil to Assane. We’d love to see a series-long rivalry between a Herlock Sholmes stan and Assane as a Lupin stan.
Lupin Part 1 and Part 2 are currently available to stream on Netflix. Continue to follow CinemaBlend for updates on when Netflix will officially premiere Lupin Part 3.
