Lupin creator says season 2 is being planned – and hints at season 1, part 2 twists

"We're story-lining that, and I'm sure that will come," Kay said. "We're actively story-lining with real confidence that that's gonna happen, because reaction to the first five episodes [of season one] would suggest that we've got every chance that [season two] would be coming next year... unless something goes completely wrong!

"Things are looking good, basically, and we're story-lining, and Omar's really involved in terms of his character – he's really active and really sharp when it comes to the scripts and Assane's journey through those stories. So yeah, it's exciting. It's exciting to build on it more, and to muddy the waters and to create more conflicts and complications."

Lupin's fifth episode closed on a cliffhanger, with Sy's Assane – a gentleman thief inspired by author Maurice Leblanc's Arsène Lupin stories – coming face-to-face with police detective Youssef Guedira (Soufiane Guerrab), the one man to make the connection between Assane/Lupin and his fictional counterpart.

Fans of the series have speculated that, rather than arrest Assane, Guedira could team up with our hero to take down series villain Hubert Pellegrini (Hervé Pierre), who is holding Assane's son Raoul (Etan Simon) hostage.

"Well, that would be fun, for that to happen!" Kay teased. "In terms of Assane's priorities, all I would say is... if I was Assane I would do whatever it takes to get my boy back, so you stop at nothing and any accomplice is valid in that situation.

"But also, the thing about Guedira as a character is... he knows that to capture Assane would be a great career move, but at the same time, he's a fan of Lupin and he recognises his hero in his quarry, his prey, so he's left with a conundrum of his own, I'd say.

"So that cliffhanger... it's obviously 'What does Assane do next?' but [it's also] 'what does Guedira do next?' – I think it'd be silly to say more because it'd spoil the fun, but there's plenty of road to travel."

Kay confirmed that part two of the first season will "answer a lot of the questions" posed by the first season – including, presumably, the truth about how and why Assane's father Babaker (Fargass Assandé) was falsely accused of stealing from his employer Pellegrini – but added that the new episodes will "kick up a few more [questions] as we go long".

Part two will also continue exploring Assane's past, and his early interactions with ex-partner Claire (Ludivine Sagnier) and best friend Benjamin (Antoine Gouy), through flashbacks. "The whole plan is we're running two parallel worlds – so we're growing the backstory, always catching up with how they came to be in the present, but then that doesn't mean that the backstory can't have its own storylines and its own problems and its own issues."

Happily, another dynamic that will continue to be a focus going forward is Assane's relationship with his pet dog, the adorable J'accuse, who he inherited from crusading journalist Fabienne Bériot (Anne Benoît), who was murdered on Pellegrini's orders. "J'accuse represents his [Assane's] love for her, so really important to me was writing this love story between this older woman and Assane, and writing about older women in the workplace, and what was important to her, amongst other things, was that dog, so a character like Assane will make sure that that dog is looked after!"

Lupin season one, part one is streaming now on Netflix – part two will arrive summer 2021.

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