Lupin: 7 things you didn't know about the series with Omar Sy

Omar Sy plays Assane Diop, a thief of great panache inspired by the adventures of the gentleman burglar, Arsène Lupin. This homage to the character of Maurice Leblanc has already been all over the world, to the general surprise of the creators of the show, and of Omar Sy himself. Directed by Louis Leterrier, Lupin, dans l'ombre d'Arsène is revealed in seven juicy anecdotes. 

The Maurice Leblanc saga is on sale in book shops

Will the novel become popular again? This is what the sale statistic of the books in bookshops seem to say on the Internet. The adventures of Arsène Lupin, as told by Maurice Leblanc literally fly off the shelves. Fascinated by the story of Assane, it's young people who are the first to have thrown themselves into the novel. Hachette, historic editor of Arsène Lupin, had also planned the coup. “When we learned that they were making a series inspired by Arsène Lupin, we went to see Netflix France and they said yes straight away for an exclusive partnership," explained the management of Hachette Romans and of the Livre de Poche Jeunesse Cécile Terouanne in Le Parisien. A special re-edition of the 9 short stories, including Collier de la Reine has been available for a few weeks. The book, similar to the one that Omar Sy reads in the series, has quickly entered the top 5 best sellers on the Amazon and Fnac websites. From 1905 to 1941, Maurice Leblanc has fed literature with his tales of the gentleman robber. 80 years after the disappearance of the author, Arsène Lupin rises from the ashes and booksellers are already preparing for the spurt planned for the release of part 2 of the series. 

The series tops all records

Since the end of 2020, Netflix has been blowing up streaming statistics. Deprived of the cinema, the whole world is relying on the platform, which is continuing to offer more and more original, high-quality content. But no one saw the Lupin avalanche coming. After topping the charts in the United States (a first for a French show), Lupin, dans l'ombre d'Arsène is on the way to surpassing Netflix's two biggest hits in 2020. Bridgerton and The Queen's Gambit. According to the platform's calculations, one month after its launch, the series with Omar Sy should have been viewed by 70 million households worldwide compared to 62 and 63 million for Bridgerton and the chess series with Anya Taylor-Joy. 

Sharon Stone is a fan

“Lupin, another wonderful project with Omar Sy is available on Netflix!" reads the Twitter account of the Basic Instinct star. Is Sharon Stone addicted to Omar Sy? 

Ever since the release of Intouchables, Omar Sy's influence has not weakened, and has even crossed the Atlantic. To thank her for her praise, Omar Sy humbly retweeted her with a heart. Perhaps this blossoming friendship will allow us to one day see these two artists reunited on screen. 

The scenes at the Louvre were actually filmed in the Museum itself

The spectacular scenes in the first episode of Lupin, the director Louis Leterrier did not hesitate to directly apply to the Louvre museum to gain permission to film there. After Jean-Luc Godard, Ron Howard and a handful of elected officials, Louis Leterrier had access to the holy grail last March: the Louvre, at night, emptied of its visitors. From the gallery of Italian painters to the inverted pyramid, the film crew were able to go largely anywhere and to capture the fascinating shots of the museum. “There was a moment when we were in the middle of filming and all of a sudden, I realise that we are at the Louvre, and above all, that I am in the room with the Mona Lisa” Omar Sy still marvels. For the director, who confided in the Allocine.fr website, this in situ filming was a real goldmine: “We were able to film the Louvre in a different way. We had a lot of fun, especially with the scene with the Ferrari. The goal was never to throw millions at them and to say ”Go on then, I'll buy the inverted pyramid." It was kindness. They understood the international influence of this character, this series and that Netflix could freshen up the image of the Louvre."

Arsène Lupin, the French James Bond

Who would have thought that the man who made the whole of France laugh in his mini-sketch with Frédéric Testot in the customer service of programs, would one day be the hero of an internationally recognized series? After having filmed numerous comedies and becoming associated with comedy, Omar Sy astonishes and astounds in Intouchables by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache. After winning a César for his role as Driss, Sy went onto act in a series of more serious film, and even made his way to Hollywood. Action, suspense, romance… Omar Sy has done a bit of everything and his role as Assane Diop allows him to bring together all his different skills in one single production. On Canal+, the actor defines his role in Lupin as the French James Bond. “I don't know that many actors who are asked ”What role do you want to play ?" If you are British, you say James Bond, if you are French, you say Lupin, obviously. It's the ideal character, there is everything within it. You can be in the midst of the drama, you can be light and funny, there's action… I've touched on these things and if I can do it with the same character for a long time, it's the perfect toy!"

Omar Sy, poster boy in the métro

To promote the series, Netflix took things to a large scale, despite the coronavirus pandemic. Sent onto the Parisian metro, Omar Sy himself improvises as the poster boy. The actor, wearing a mask, put up a giant poster of himself in front of passengers who had absolutely no idea who he is. The publicity stunt was brilliant and introduced the slogan of the series, “You've seen me, but you haven't looked."

The anachronisms of the series

To tell the story of Assane Diop, the screenplay by Georges Kay and François Uzan takes the viewer back to 1995. To remain faithful to the Paris of the time, the decoration and costume team of Lupin, dans l'ombre d'Arsène sought out vintage cars and retro clothes. But several anachronisms have been spotted in the series. Most notably the case of a pair of trainers worn by Mamadou Haïdara who plays the young Omar Sy. On the feet of the adolescent version of Assane, viewers will not shoes by the brand Artego from Décathlon. However, the famous sportswear shop humorously notified Netflix that the Artego did not exist 1995. Following this, several internet users had fun spotting the other inconsistencies present in the series.

Translated by Isabella Martin