David Fincher is best known for directing such films as Gone Girl and The Social Network, but ventured into television with Netflix's award-winning political saga House of Cards - which just unveiled a premiere date and new teaser for season 4.
However, his recent efforts on the small screen have failed to get off the ground, including the projects Utopia - an adaptation of the British series of the same name starring Rooney Mara - and comedy Videosyncrazy (previously titled Video Synchronicity), both at HBO. The acclaimed director also recently received the unwelcome news that Sony’s The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo franchise is moving on without him.
Now, Fincher has decided to re-team with Netflix for the new series Mindhunter starring Charlize Theron. Deadline reports the series will be based on John Douglas and Mark Olshaker's 1996 non-fiction book, "Mind Hunter: Inside The FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit", which follows Douglas’ time as an FBI profiler tracking serial killers and rapists. His involvement in numerous high-profile cases led him to serve as the inspiration for several book and TV characters, including Jack Crawford in The Silence of the Lambs, Will Graham on Hannibal and Jason Gideon on Criminal Minds.
The project, which was initially conceived as a potential HBO series, has been in the works since at least 2010, when Dexter exec producer/show runner Scott Buck had been fittingly tapped to write the pilot - but there's been little to report since then. Buck will not be involved with the new iteration of the project as he was recently hired to run the Netflix series Marvel’s Iron Fist. Instead, British playwright and scriptwriter Joe Penhall (The Road) has signed on to pen the script. Fincher previously collaborated with playwright Beau Willimon on House of Cards, as it were.
Fincher has experience in the serial killer genre, thanks to his work on such films as Se7en and the true-life inspired Zodiac. The director will also serve as executive producer on Mindhunter alongside Theron. This will mark the Mad Max: Fury Road stars’ first major TV role. The Oscar-winner’s previous TV credits include voice work on Adult Swim’s Robot Chicken, along with a handful of appearances on Arrested Development (which, as it were, is expected to return for season 5 on Netflix).
It's unclear whether Fincher will helm all or most of the episodes of Mindhunter - he was slated to direct the entire first season of Utopia - or if he will pass off directing duties to someone else after establishing the tone of the series as he did with House of Cards (which has arguably never been as good without his involvement). No word yet on the rest of the cast or when the drama will be released on Netflix, either.
We'll bring you more information on Mindhunter when we have it.
Source: Deadline