Marvel's Luke Cage Actor Might Star In True Detective Season 3

HBO's True Detective was one of 2014's most acclaimed TV shows, and expectations were high for the second season. Unfortunately, it was not nearly as popular, and it has been unclear if Season 3 will happen. However, it has now been reported that Oscar-winning actor Mahershala Ali is in talks to star in the next season of the cop drama.

According to The Tracking Board, Ali is close to signing onto the show. While the site notes that True Detective Season 3 has not yet been formally greenlit by HBO, sources state that it is "definitely expected to return."

Ali took home the Best Supporting Actor Oscar earlier this year for the acclaimed drama Moonlight. He also played the villainous Cottonmouth in Marvel's Netflix show Luke Cage, and appeared in House of Cards, Hidden Figures, and the final two Hunger Games movies.

In March, it was reported that True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto was working on new scripts for the show alongside veteran TV producer David Milch (Deadwood, NYPD Blue) .

Last year Michael Lombardo, former president of programming at HBO, spoke about the negative reaction to Season 2. "When we tell somebody to hit an air date as opposed to allowing the writing to find its own natural resting place, when it's ready, when it's baked--we've failed," he admitted. "And I think in this particular case, the first season of True Detective was something that Nic Pizzolatto had been thinking about, gestating, for a long period of time. He's a soulful writer.

"I think what we did was go, 'Great.' And I take the blame. I became too much of a network executive at that point. We had huge success. 'Gee, I'd love to repeat that next year.'

"Well, you know what? I set him up to deliver, in a very short time frame, something that became very challenging to deliver.. That's not what that show is. He had to reinvent the wheel, so to speak. Find his muse. And so I think that's what I learned from it. Don't do that anymore."

True Detective Season 1 aired in 2014 and starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, while 2015's Season 2 featured Colin Farrell, Vince Vaughn, and Rachel McAdams.