Omar Sy on Taking Creative Control of Netflix’s ‘Lupin’

Netflix‘s smash hit heist series “Lupin” is back bigger and bolder after three years, and its French star Omar Sy, who plays French gentleman thief Assane Diop, has something to do with it.

Sy, who served as artistic producer on previous installments, makes his debut as co-showrunner alongside Louis Leterrier for the show’s fourth part, on top of co-producing it through their joint banner Carrousel Studios.

Speaking in an interview with Variety ahead of the Oct. 23 launch, Sy revealed he made greater creative control a condition of his return on the show.

“There were quite a few moments in previous seasons when I felt frustrated because things I wanted didn’t necessarily end up on screen. So my condition for continuing was that I would have a little more say in the decisions. They gave me that role, and it allowed me to change things,” Sy said during the zoom interview, sitting against a red backdrop of “Lupin” featuring an animated silhouette of Diop and the Eiffel Tower.

The new season picks up four years after the events of Part 3, with Assane behind bars before finding himself targeted by a mysterious copycat who pulls off a string of elaborate heists in his name.

With a bigger budget from Netflix, Sy and Leterrier leaned further into the show’s superhero-like qualities, expanding its universe beyond the novels of Maurice Leblanc and weaving some futuristic elements.

“We’re moving a little further away from Maurice Leblanc…. We brought it more into our own universe,” said Sy. “That’s why we’re going further into the prison setting, introducing new technologies and all these different elements. We’re embracing modernity, whether it’s through the prison itself or all the technology that the copycat uses to trap Assane.”

The challenge, Sy says, was to preserve what made “Lupin” a global hit while making the new season feel fresh enough to draw in viewers who have never watched the series. The new role also allowed Sy to bring in rising French actor Théo Christine and explore more emotional side of Assane’s story,

Sy, who’s currently shooting Bradley Cooper’s Ocean prequel alongside Margot Robbie, has carved out a career in Hollywood and in European cinema, often serving as a producer on projects exploring social and political issues. He starred in and produced Mathieu Vadepied’s “Father & Soldier,” which shed light on the largely overlooked history of Senegalese soldiers who fought for France during WWI.

His upcoming French projects include Ladj Ly’s “Dumas: Diable Noir” (“Black Dumas”), which reunites him with Christine and tells the story of Thomas-Alexandre Dumas, the formerly enslaved man who became France’s first Black general and whose son would go on to become one of the country’s most celebrated writers.

Slated for release in October 2027, “Black Dumas” will arrive just months after France’s presidential election, which is shaping up to be one of the country’s most divisive in decades, with the far right leading polls and political tensions running high.

“One thing I’m sure of is that ‘Dumas’ is going to generate a lot of debate and discussion,” said Sy, who’s lived in Los Angeles for years but still votes in France. “We need conversations right now. I just hope they can be calm, thoughtful conversations rather than heated ones.”

While he had broken through with his first leading role in the French comedy “Intouchables,” it’s his part as Assane Diop in “Lupin” which turned Sy into an international star in 2021. Like “Emily in Paris,” “Lupin” has contributed to boosting tourism in the French capital, and has been hugely successful internationally on Netflix, although the latter has even more merit, being in French.

You’re co-showrunner on this season. What made you want to get more involved creatively, and how did that change the way you worked on the series?

The truth is, I’ve been involved in the same way from the very beginning. My involvement hasn’t changed. I’ve always been part of all the conversations, from the first to the last. The difference is that before, I was allowed to participate and make suggestions, but I couldn’t make the decisions or necessarily see those ideas through. There were quite a few moments in previous seasons when I felt frustrated because things I wanted didn’t necessarily end up on screen. So my condition for continuing was that I would have a little more say in the decisions. They gave me that role, and it allowed me to change things. For example, bringing in Théo Christine was something we wanted to do, and we went after him. There are decisions like that which might seem quite radical but can take the show somewhere different. That’s what this new role has allowed me to do. But in terms of my involvement, it’s been the same from the start. I just have a little more decision-making power now.

I found the father-son relationship with Théo Christine in the first episode incredibly moving. You also worked together with this young actor on Ladj Ly’s “Dumas: Diable Noir,” didn’t you?

What’s funny is that actually happened afterward. We approached Théo for “Lupin,” and he said yes. Then, while we were working on the series, he got the role in “Dumas.”

The first episode feels more dramatic than previous seasons, especially with the father-son relationship. Was that something you particularly wanted to explore?

What’s great about this series is that you have a bit of everything. There’s drama, but there’s also comedy, lighter moments, flamboyant characters and all the action that comes with it. It’s really a place where you can put so many different things. That’s why I always say that “Lupin” is my favorite toy. You can turn it in every direction, you can do all sorts of things in the same universe and with the same character.

Were you also interested in exploring the prison setting more extensively this season?

Yes, because ultimately we’re dealing with a thief, and prison is part of that world. It’s something we hadn’t really explored before. In the first season, there’s a short sequence where he’s in prison, and we also touch on that world through his father, but we’d never really gone into it in depth. This time, we wanted to explore it further, and we also filmed it a little differently.

The prison almost has a futuristic, science-fiction quality. It feels quite stylized.

We brought it more into our own universe. That’s really what this season does. We’re fully embracing the world we’ve created. That’s why we’re going further into the prison setting, introducing new technologies and all these different elements. We’re moving a little further away from Maurice Leblanc and bringing more of our own ideas into it. We’re embracing modernity, whether it’s through the prison itself or all the technology that the copycat uses to trap Assane.

The production looks bigger and more ambitious. Did you have a significantly larger budget this time?

We definitely had more resources. And we have to acknowledge that, because Netflix would be very upset if we said otherwise! They gave us the means to make this season, and it was important to us that you could see and feel that on screen.

There’s almost a superhero quality to this season, particularly with the idea of Lupin versus Lupin. It feels a little like a Marvel movie.

Yes, but actually, when I say we’re moving away from Maurice Leblanc, that’s one area where we’re not. He did that several times himself. He brought in Sherlock Holmes, and at one point Lupin even faces another Lupin. Maurice Leblanc had already done that. I think it’s Marvel that copied Maurice Leblanc! But seriously, from the very beginning, when we decided to bring Lupin back and make this series, that’s how we imagined the character. Louis [Leterrier] decided to film him using those codes. That’s why his coat is like a cape. We really conceived this character as a superhero. It’s also why you have those shots of him on the rooftops of Paris, with his silhouette against the skyline, almost like a shadow. That superhero dimension has always been part of our vision of the character, and we fully embrace it.

I’ve only seen the first episode, but I already suspect that Assane’s best friend might have something to do with what’s going on. Is betrayal one of the central themes of this season?

With “Lupin,” there’s always betrayal somewhere. It’s a battle of wits, a game of intelligence, and we need those twists. Very often, betrayal is part of that. One of the things I love about this series is that we established something in the first season that continues to work today: speculation. Everyone is trying to figure out who’s behind everything. It’s like a game of Cluedo, trying to guess who the killer is. I love that. It’s one of my favorite aspects of the series. That whole whodunit element is something we deliberately work on. It’s part of the pleasure of “Lupin,” both for us and for the audience.

I feel that quite a few films and series have tried to copy “Lupin” in recent years.

I’m not the one saying it! You said it, not me!

Has the success of “Lupin” made you want to become more involved in creating other films and series, beyond acting and producing?

Yes, absolutely. That’s exactly what we’re working on with Thomas [Benski], Louis [Leterrier] and Carrousel Studios. We’re developing projects that I hope we’ll be able to announce soon. Carrousel really came out of everything we experienced together on “Lupin.” Louis and I discovered each other artistically through this series. At a certain point, we reached another level in our collaboration, and we realized that together we were capable of creating these kinds of projects. Carrousel is really about taking that collaboration further and doing it on a much bigger scale. We’re working on things, and I hope we’ll soon be able to come out with an idea that is still cooking at the moment.

What’s also remarkable about this new season of “Lupin” is that someone who has never seen the series could start watching with Part 4 and still get into it. Was making it accessible to new audiences important to you?

Thank you, because that’s exactly what we wanted to achieve. That’s also why we took our time. Obviously, we’re continuing a series that has been watched by a lot of people, so there are things we had to preserve. But at the same time, we had to bring something new. Finding that balance was really the challenge, and it’s something we worked on enormously. So hearing you say that is very satisfying, because it’s exactly what we were trying to do.

You’ve had a busy year. You starred in “Dumas: Diable Noir,” and you’re also shooting the new “Ocean’s” movie. Have you finished filming that?

No, we’re still filming.

Can you tell me anything about your character?

I can’t! You know how these things work. You can’t really talk about anything until someone tells you exactly what you can say. And since we’re still shooting, I’m keeping quiet. You know what you know, and I can’t tell you anything more. But I can tell you we’re still working on it. We shot over the summer, and we’re now finishing it. It’s great.

What’s Bradley Cooper like as a director?

Bradley is someone who’s incredibly inspired. He’s very involved, very passionate. He’s completely immersed in what he’s doing. He really enjoys his work and throws himself into it. And because he’s also an actor, he has a way of communicating what he wants that makes it very easy for another actor to understand and deliver. I’d already worked with him as an actor on “Burnt.” Even back then, he was someone who shared a lot with the people around him. Now that he’s also behind the camera, it’s a real pleasure. It’s incredibly inspiring to watch him work. And because I’m also interested in exploring what’s happening behind the camera, particularly as a producer, seeing the way he approaches and invests himself in every aspect of a project is very inspiring for me.

You’ve been working in Hollywood for several years now. Are there still things you’re particularly eager to do in the U.S. that you haven’t had the chance to do yet?

I don’t really think that way. I don’t approach my career by telling myself that there’s a particular box I still need to tick. That’s not how I function at all. I started in this business with a certain momentum, and I’ve tried to keep moving without making too many plans or calculations. There are encounters, opportunities, things that inspire you. I see it as a movement that continues rather than something that needs to be planned out. Take Carrousel, for example. It started with my meeting Louis, then Thomas, and that led to Carrousel. It’s the same with Bradley. We met on “Burnt,” we got along really well, and today he’s calling me to work with him on this new project. That’s how things happen for me. I don’t sit down and think that I need to do this or that next. It’s not my way of working. The things I do come more from my gut than from my head.

What’s interesting about the U.S. industry right now is that alongside all the consolidation, with Paramount and Warner Bros., there are also a lot of independent companies and extraordinary creative talent.

That’s what I believe in more. I believe in what’s being created a little on the margins, with lighter, more flexible structures that are more focused on creativity and on bringing something new. Because on the other side, the studios are becoming bigger and bigger. But the more they merge, the more they become fixed and rigid. What’s exciting about creating things is that sense of freedom, that lightness and the ability to adapt. And coming back to Carrousel, that’s exactly what we want to preserve: the ability to move quickly and adapt quickly.

You also have Ladj Ly’s “Dumas: Diable Noir” coming out next year, possibly around the time of the French elections. Given the political climate, do you think a film like that could have a particular resonance? What role can cinema play in these debates?

One thing I’m sure of is that “Dumas” is going to generate a lot of debate and discussion. For me, that’s also one of the things cinema can do. It’s not its only purpose, obviously, but it can create conversations. When you make a film like “Dumas,” that’s also something you hope to provoke. And given the current political context, I do think a film like this will generate discussion. We need conversations right now. I just hope they can be calm, thoughtful conversations rather than heated ones.

You’re still based in Los Angeles, right?

Yes, I’m still in the United States.

So you’re watching what’s happening in France from a distance?

No, I’m not watching from a distance. I’m here, I’m right in the middle of it, and I feel what’s happening.

Although you have plenty of problems in the U.S. as well.

The thing is, the problems in the United States aren’t my problems. My problems are here.

So your heart is still in Paris?

Obviously.