Mahershala Ali has signed on to star in the possible third season of True Detective. Casey Bloys, president of programming at HBO, made the revelation during the network's summer Television Critics Association (TCA) presentation. The announcement comes nearly one month after reports suggested that Ali was in talks to join the show.
The only hurdle remaining for the show is getting greenlit. However, Bloys seems to believe True Detective Season 3 will happen, especially after reading five finished scripts. “They are terrific... I was very impressed and excited,” he said, perDeadline. “We are talking to directors, and when we have a director we want to hire, it will be a go.”
It's a strange turn of events for Ali and HBO. Game of Thrones casting director Nina Gold once passed on Ali for a role in season two following what the actor calls “one of the worst auditions of my life.” Even though Gold looks back at that situation wondering, “Wow, how could I have ever turned down Mahershala Ali?,” the rejection may have been a blessing in disguise for the actor.
If Ali were to land the part in GoT, does he still have the opportunity to become Cottonmouth in Luke Cage? Does Mahershala get the role of Remy Danton in House of Cards? And most importantly, do prior obligations stand in the way of having him sign on for what would become his Oscar-winning part in Moonlight?
Sometimes, life just seems to work in mysterious ways.
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