Though HBO’s True Detective went into this year’s Emmy Awards with high hopes and plenty of nominations, it walked away from only one of the big categories with a trophy in hand., for director Cary Fukunaga's work on the episode “Who Goes There.” Maybe it’s a good time to divert our attention from potential True Detective actors and focus on who will be behind the camera for Season 2. The first candidate for the job is reportedly Justin Lin, best known for his work on the Fast & Furious franchise, for which he directed four of the six previously released films. Does this mean True Detective is going to have more explosions and massive highway set pieces?
Lin is in very early talks, according to THR’s sources, with lots of budget details needing attention, as well as mentally putting the director into this crime universe from series creator Nic Pizzolatto. It’s complicated further by the fact that Lin is only up for directing two episodes of Season 2, rather than being the sole filmmaker involved, as Fukunaga was for Season 1. There’s no telling which two episodes he would be helming either, though THR offers the truly insightful claim that “some sources say it could be the first two.”
Filming is set to start on True Detective later this month, which means they’re going to need more than just Lin heading into negotiations in the next few weeks. It appears Season 2 will do what most HBO series do by bringing over lauded directors to handle one or two episodes. It makes for an interesting variety of visuals in a given season, but takes away from the all-inclusive presentation that Season 1 excelled at, with Fukunaga’s singular vision guiding audiences across Louisiana countrysides.
This season will of course be completely different from Season 1, with the location changing to a fictional area of California where a corrupt city manager has been found murdered during a huge transportation negotiation. Three cops from three different areas try to figure the murder out, stumbling up on more bodies and Satan worship for their troubles. As far as the cast goes, Colin Ferrell is set for one of the roles, with Taylor Kitsch up for another. Michelle Forbes is reportedly the third cop and Vince Vaughan will play the ruthless villain. It’s unclear just where any of these actors are in the negotiation process, so take it all with a grain of salt or ten.
Following his announcement that Fast & Furious 6 would be his last entry in that series, Lin was seemingly attached to every third movie that was announced, including the Bourne Legacy follow-up, a mega-budget remake of Shaolin Temple, a sci-fi thriller, the crime drama Times Square and an adaptation of the documentary The Battered Bastards of Baseball. He has the upcoming computer expert drama Scorpion premiering on CBS later this month, so maybe he’s looking to stick to the small screen for a little while longer before heading back to Hollywood.
