Fresh off of watching Lupin III the First, I’ve also watched the French show Lupin (first part now on Netflix). In this case, the story isn’t covering Lupin himself (the original OR the third one), but a man named Assane Diop, who commits a crime inspired by the tales of Lupin to get revenge on rich assholes that ruined his and his father’s life. The show is directed by Louis Leterrier (The Incredible Hulk, Now You See Me).
Diop (played by Omar Sy, my fellow nerds will know him as Bishop in X-Men: Days of Future Past) is the son of a Senegalese immigrant, a single father trying to do his best. Babakar Diop gets a job as a driver for the family of Hubert Pelligrini. However, he gets framed for the theft of a necklace that once belonged to Marie Antoinette, and ends up hanging himself in prison. The teenaged Assane becomes obsessed with the last gift from his father, the book Arsène Lupin, Gentleman Burglar.
Omar Sy’s Lupin is the perfect charming rogue, and the heist scenes have many of the classic elements – double crosses, disguises, narrow escapes. We also see Diop’s life and how it intersects with him being a conman and a thief. He has a son, and is separated from Claire (they say ex-wife at one point but I’m not sure they were married, could be a translation thing).
If there’s one negative, it *is* the English dub. Lupin is fine, but some of the other characters have a rough go of it, and sound out of place. It’s not a deal-breaker for me, but be aware. You could watch in French with subtitles instead. I’m not one to judge.
I enjoyed it quite a bit! Five episodes are out now, with five more forthcoming in the summer. Note that it ends on a cliffhanger, if that’s something that would bother you. Here’s a trailer:
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