Matthew McConaughey will step into the trench coat of legendary private eye Mike Hammer in a new film based on the crime novels by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The project reunites McConaughey with writer Nic Pizzolatto, creator of HBO's True Detective, as relayed by Parade. Their previous collaboration, which featured McConaughey as Rust Cohle, earned the actor nominations from the Emmys, Golden Globes and SAG Awards.
Skydance is producing the film. David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger are joined by Entertainment 360's Guymon Casady as producers. No director has been named, and a release date has not been announced.
McConaughey Brings Hammer Back
Hammer first appeared in 1947's I, the Jury. A private investigator with a violent streak and little patience for due process, he quickly became one of noir's most controversial characters. His worldview was darker than that of Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe or Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade, and his methods inspired later antiheroes like Dirty Harry and the Punisher.
Several actors have taken a swing at Hammer before, including Ralph Meeker in Kiss Me Deadly and Stacy Keach in a string of TV movies.
McConaughey's version will draw from the full library of Spillane and Collins' work, which spans more than two dozen books.
Yet Another Transformation
Known early in his career for roles in Dazed and Confused and A Time to Kill, McConaughey eventually became a fixture in romantic comedies. Films like The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days defined much of his 2000s output.
In 2011, he shifted course with The Lincoln Lawyer, followed by standout performances in Magic Mike, Mud, and Dallas Buyers Club, the last of which earned him an Academy Award. That same year, he starred in The Wolf of Wall Street and launched a new era with True Detective.
Recent credits include Interstellar, The Gentlemen and voice work in Sing and Kubo and the Two Strings.
McConaughey now adds a hard-boiled icon to his resume, stepping into a role as complex as it is brutal. Whether fans of noir are ready for his take on Mike Hammer is one mystery this film hopes to solve.
