More than a decade after Rust Cohle and Marty Hart first stared into the abyss, talk of reuniting Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson for another round of “True Detective” refuses to disappear. The difference now is that the possibility has moved beyond fan speculation: according to McConaughey, creator Nic Pizzolatto has discussed actual ideas with both actors.
Appearing on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, McConaughey said Pizzolatto has been considering another story involving the detectives who anchored the HBO anthology’s acclaimed first season.
“He’s going to talk about it, and he’s got ideas, and we’ve talked about a few,” McConaughey said. “If he wants to go get his head and heart and spirit in the place to put something down—because he went to a place when he wrote [Season 1] that was on another frequency and had such clear identity—that was special.”
Pizzolatto previously revealed that he had an idea for bringing Rust and Marty back and had discussed it with McConaughey and Harrelson. McConaughey then explained that he is generally resistant to sequels, especially when they repeat the original or force its characters into familiar comeback narratives. Any new “True Detective” story, he said, would have to justify revisiting Rust and Marty on its own terms.
“If the first one worked really well, then that second one better be its own thing,” he explained. “It needs—I need to personally believe, whether it will be or not—I need to personally believe it will be a one-of-one on its own.”
The first season became an immediate cultural phenomenon in 2014, earning McConaughey and Harrelson Emmy nominations and establishing “True Detective” as one of HBO’s defining series of the decade. McConaughey suggested that matching its distinctive voice remains the greatest obstacle to bringing the characters back.
“They better be good because the first ones had a bit of a lightning bolt, you know, of originality,” McConaughey said.
In the meantime, don’t hold your breath on any of this happening anytime soon, or at all. Pizzolatto is no longer creatively involved with “True Detective” and publicly criticized Issa López’s “True Detective: Night Country.” López is now overseeing the fifth season under an overall deal with HBO. A Pizzolatto-led Rust-and-Marty revival would seemingly require him to repair that relationship and arrive with one hell of a pitch—presumably with McConaughey and Harrelson already committed.
