Lupin's Omar Sy addresses Raoul replacement in season 4 as new actor joins the cast

After more than three years off our screens, mystery thriller Lupin returns to Netflix for part 4 as Assane Diop takes on his biggest test yet.

Four years on from when he handed himself in to the authorities, Assane is days away from being released from prison and fulfilling the promise he made to his son Raoul to be fully present in his life. Among other things, they had planned a trip to Senegal to visit their family, signalling a fresh start for the pair.

"But his plans are turned upside down by a mysterious announcement signed by “Lupin”: Multiple museums are to be hit with simultaneous heists. In spite of heightened security, the thefts go off as planned," reads the synopsis.

"Assane proclaims his innocence, but everything points to his guilt To prove his innocence and unmask the copycat, Assane must escape and don the Lupin costume once more."

Much of part 4's focus is on Assane unmasking the copycat Lupin and putting a stop to their scheming. But the series is also concerned with the complicated father-son dynamic between the anti-hero and Raoul.

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• Lupin's Omar Sy reveals Assane's reaction to "unusual situation" in season 4: "Who's going to win?"

"That's really his struggle," Sy told Radio Times. "He's really good at a lot of things, and ahead on everything and can really decide what the future is going to be on those things. But with his son, it's a real struggle.

"He finds communication difficult, everything related to his feelings – and it's been like that since the first episode on season 1.

"It's especially hard because he lost his dad very, very early. So fatherhood is a really complicated journey for Assane, and that's the thing we wanted to focus on [in part 4], going deeper on that level."

But while Raoul has been a key part of the show from the very beginning, the actor who played the character in the first three instalments, Etan Simon, has not returned for part 4.

Simon has been replaced by Théo Christine (Suprêmes, Infested) "because time has passed and we wanted him to be older and bring something more to this character" explained Sy

"In the story we want to go deeper on the drama, so we needed a different actor for that, less of a kid. We wanted a young man for this part of of the show."

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"It was really hard [saying goodbye to Simon]", added Sy. "But if you want the show to continue and evolve, there are certain decisions that you have to make, and that was one of them.

"But it's never easy."

New addition Christine has joined several Lupin favourites as they return for part 4, including Ludivine Sagnier as Claire, Antoine Gouy as Benjamin Férel and Soufiane Guerrab as Youssef Guedira.

In big news, Hervé Pierre has also resumed his role as Assane's arch nemesis Hubert Pellegrini, while Laïka Blanc-Francard (The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon) has joined the show, but without any character details attached ahead of part 4.

Could she be the copycat Lupin? Or is it someone far closer to home?

Lupin streams on Netflix. You can sign up to Netflix from £5.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky TV and Virgin Media.

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