As you may have noticed, the arrival of HBO’s “True Detective” onto the TV landscape has attracted widespread attention for reasons both headline-grabbing (Episode Four’s six-minute long take) and dense (the many literary influences). The quality of the Nic Pizzolatto-penned show has also led to a debate about what new cast will take center stage once Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey depart, but as its director Cary Fukunaga has displayed in his career thus far, he’s already swiftly moved on and set up another unique project.
Deservedly hit with industry attention as “True Detective” nears the end of its eight-episode run, Fukunaga looks prepared as Deadline reports Fox has bought a pitch from the “Jane Eyre” director for mid-six figures. The as-yet-untitled project is reportedly set in a “contemporary wartime context,” and will find Fukunaga directing from a script written by fellow Sundance Labs alum and Black List screenwriter Nicole Riegel (“Dogfight”).
The eclectic nature of Fukunaga’s filmography casts more of a question mark on his wartime project than usual: after all, his next directorial effort is the Idris Elba-led drama concerning child soldiers in Ghana, “Beasts of No Nation,” and he’s also developing the France-set espionage tale “Noble Assassin” at DreamWorks. Whatever the case, cast or location though, Fukunaga has displayed the talent to work up anticipation over the vaguest of loglines, but for the meantime enjoy the final episodes of the director’s stunning run on HBO. While he won’t be back to direct season two of “True Detective,” he will be on board as an executive producer.