First Look at Idris Elba in Cary Fukunaga's 'Beasts of No Nation'

Idris Elba is someone that most expect to one day have the label "Oscar winner" attached to his career, and while things didn't quite work out with Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, an even better opportunity may be on the way. Coming off the massive success of HBO's True Detective, director Cary Fukunaga has jumped back into features with the African drama, Beasts of No Nation, and we've now got the first image of Elba looking mighty intimidating in the lead role.

Based on the novel by Uzodinma Iweala, the story follows Agu, a young boy in an unnamed West African village dealing with the death of his father at the hands of violent militants. Left vulnerable to a commanding and paternal influence, he is recruited by the leader of a militant army to become a child soldier as war engulfs the country. 

Fukunaga's previous films Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre were both very impressive and there's every reason to think Beast of No Nation will be, as well. Filming is currently underway in Ghana and there's a chance it won't be finished in time for this year's Oscars, but it's definitely worth keeping an eye on for the next. 

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Cary Fukunaga to Write and Direct Alexandre Dumas Film 'The Black Count'

Yeah, it's a little sad that Cary Fukunaga won't be returning for season two of True Detective, but after helming ever single episode of the HBO series he deserves a break....from TV, anyway. Fortunately it has freed him up to start work on the big screen again, lining up his next project, a rather incredible true tale of the real-life inspiration for The Count of Monte Cristo.

Fukunaga will write and direct an adaptation of The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, And The Real Count of Monte Cristo, Tom Reiss' book about General Alex Dumas, the father of author Alexandre Dumas. General Alex Dumas was born a slave but rose to become the highest-ranking military officer in the European army, fighting in the French Revolution and becoming a close ally and friend to Napoleon.

John Legend is on board to produce, and it will be interesting to see if he helps out on the soundtrack in some capacity. Fukunaga was supposed to begin work on Beasts of No Nation next month, a film which stars Idris Elba. If this is truly his next project as Deadline states, then it's possible there's been a delay on that one.

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Season finale of 'True Detective' gets an utterly stress-inducing teaser

I am an insanely obsessed True Detective person, and I'm not ashamed! I read its Reddit page compulsively. I follow way too many Tumblrs that post gif after gif after gif of each episode. And next week, when this first season with Woody Harrelson and your new winner of the Best Actor Oscar Matthew "All right, all right, all right" McConaughey ends, I will be DESPONDENT. Because True Detective may be the best show on TV right now and I can't even imagine how season two could get any better.

If you're watching, you know all the plot threads that have to be tied up - the Yellow King, Carcosa, if Marty's (Harrelson's character) daughter Audrey had anything to do with those creepy men in terrifying animal masks - and you also know that last night's episode already revealed some major plot points we've been building up to for weeks. And, if you need to whet your appetite a bit more, check out the teaser below for the season finale. IS THAT RUST TIED UP ON THAT BED? WHAT IS GOING ON? I AM VERY STRESSED OUT

Join me in being stressed. Next Sunday on the PunchDrunkCritics podcast we'll discuss our theories about how the show is going to wrap up; be sure to listen in. Until then, I'll be over here working on my devil's nest.

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'True Detective' Director Cary Fukunaga Lines Up New Project at Fox

HBO's True Detective hasn't completed its 8-episode first season, and already the reaction to it has been some of the best the network has ever received. Part of the reason for the show's consistently dark atmosphere and complex characters is the presence of director Cary Fukunaga, who has been at the helm for every single episode. While he'll move into a producer capacity for season two (which may be led by female detectives, by the way), Fukunaga has just become attached to a major feature project being put together at Fox.

Deadline reports Fox have preemptively bought a pitch, costing somewhere in the mid six-figures, with plans for Fukunaga to direct and produce. Details are scarce but we know it will be penned by Nicole Riegel, and is set in a contemporary wartime context.

No word on where this would fit into Fukunaga's schedule. He's set to team up with Idris Elba for Beasts of No Burden, and was tapped by Dreamworks to helm another war film, Noble Assassin.

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Trailer for HBO Series 'True Detective' Starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson

You've now got another reason to hang on to that HBO subscription for another year. Last night the first trailer for the new series True Detective was released, and it looks spectacular. Starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, with direction by Cary Fukunaga (Sin Nombre, Jane Eyre), the series is described as an anthology with this first season following a pair of detectives whose lives are entwined during a 17-year manhunt for a Louisiana serial killer. The first 8 episodes will tell a complete story, one that covers the case from 1995 when the first murder occurs, to 2012 when the case is reopened. My first thought was how this could be the distinctive visual and character piece for Fukunaga in the way Top of the Lake was for Jane Campion. It's going to be a real treat to count on McConaughey and Harrelson on our TV screens every single week.

True Detective premieres on HBO this January.


True Detective - Official Trailer (HBO) [VO|HD720p] by Team Lyricis

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Cary Fukunaga Is A 'Noble Assassin'; Jean-Marc Vallee Gets 'Wild'; Olivia Munn Eyes 'Mortdecai'

* Yesterday I was lamenting the wait between Cary Fukunaga films, and now the Sin Nombre and Jane Eyre director has signed on for two projects in the span of 24 hours. He's now signed on to helm Dreamworks' Noble Assassin, based on an upcoming book by Paul Kix. It tells the true story of Robert de la Rochefoucauld, an aristocrat trained in the dark arts who joined the French resistance against the Nazis in WWII. This follows on the heels of Fukunaga agreeing to direct Beasts of No Nation with Idris Elba in the lead. [Deadline]

* Awhile back Reese Witherspoon signed on to star in Wild, an adaptation of Cheryl Strayed's bestselling memoir that features a Nick Hornby script. With production set to begin this fall, a director has finally been found in Jean-Marc Vallee, whose film Dallas Buyer's Club lands this December. Wild follows Strayed's 1100-mile solo hike from the Mojave Desert to Washington State after experiencing a number of personal tragedies.

*  Say what you will about HBO's The Newsroom (like that it's maddeningly inconsistent), one of the great revelations has been Olivia Munn, who steals every scene as the socially awkward economics geek, Sloan. The show has done wonders for her career, and now she may be joining a major film led by Johnny Depp. Munn is in talks to join Depp, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Ewan McGregor in Mortdecai. David Koepp will pen and direct the film, based on the fourth of Kyril Bonfiglioli's Mortdecai books that has the suave art dealer and rogue in a global race to find lost Nazi gold. [Deadline]

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