HBO is preparing to develop an upcoming limited series that will act as a sequel to the 1996 film, A Time To Kill, with Matthew McConaughey (True Detective, Interstellar) set to reprise his original role, according to Deadline. Based on the Josh Grisham novel A Time For Mercy, the untitled sequel series follows the 90s film over the span of eight to ten episodes for its limited run. The limited series comes as a result of the acquisition of the novel’s rights by WarnerMedia and HBO. Currently, there is no timetable for its production process nor premiere.
A Time to Kill centers on a pair of white men, Billy Ray Cobb and Pete Williard, committing the act of rape and assault on a ten-year-old African American named Tonya in a small town in Mississippi. Tonya’s father Carl Lee responds with the killing of the two which results in a national media story. The film and novel center on Defense Attorney Jake Brigance, portrayed by McConaughey, in addition to Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction) as Carl Lee, Kevin Spacey (House of Cards) as Rufus Buckley, and Sandra Bullock (Blindside) as Ellen Roark.
The sequel novel and limited series will center on Brigance once more and his time as an attorney for sixteen-year-old Drew Gamble who has been put on trial for allegedly murdering a local deputy in the small town of Mississippi. Currently, McConaughey is the only individual announced to return to the series and the sole member of its cast at the moment. This limited series adaptation is from the third novel of the Brigance character following the 2013 Sycamore Row from Grishams.
The HBO limited series is in the midst of the process of acquiring a writers’ room for the adaptation.