David Fincher Opens Up on Concers of Mindhunter Future

With the streaming platform putting Mindhunter on indefinite hold earlier this year and the Oscar-nominated director and executive producer expressing doubt about its future, David Fincher has further opened up about his concerns regarding the acclaimed series’ future and hopes for its continued life.

In an interview with Variety for his upcoming biographical drama Mank, which was reportedly one of the reasons for the indefinite hold on the crime thriller, Fincher reiterated his recent doubts, expanding that he doesn’t “know if it makes sense to continue” as it “was an expensive show, it had a very passionate audience but we never got the numbers that justified the cost.” The 58-year-old filmmaker also revealed some of the behind-the-scenes drama that went on into the second season, in which he had to fire the original showrunner, reject eight scripts and the series’ bible and move to Pittsburgh to oversee production on the season, which all began to wear on him.

“I certainly needed some time away,” Fincher said. “We had all hands on deck to finish [season two] and we didn’t have a ton of scripts and a ton of outlines and a bible standing by for season three. I’ll admit I was a little bit like ‘I don’t know that I’m ready to spend another two years in the crawl space.‘”

Despite these issues, however, Fincher is hoping that the indefinite hiatus will allow him time to find a renewed passion for bring the series back to life and carry it to his planned ending of the FBI arresting the real-life BTK Strangler Dennis Rader. The currently-incarcerated serial killer was portrayed by Sonny Valicenti (The Post) in the series.

In Mindhunter, two FBI agents (Jonathan Groff and Holt McCallany) set out on a sinister investigative odyssey to discover the brutal answers. In addition to the Atlanta Child Murders — which took place between 1979 and 1981 — the new season will likely cover Son of Sam and the reappearance of the BTK Killer.

Along with Groff and McCallany, the series features Anna Torv (Fringe, Heavenly Sword, The Daughter) and Hannah Gross (Unless, I Used to Be Darker, Take What You Can Carry). The series is directed by David Fincher (Gone Girl, The Social Network, Zodiac), Asif Kapadia (Amy, Senna), Tobias Lindholm (A War, A Hijacking) and Andrew Douglas (The Amityville Horror, U Want Me 2 Kill Him?). Season 2 will feature Damon Herriman (Justified, Quarry) playing Charles Manson, a role he also filled for Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood.

Joe Penhall (The Road) created the series. Fincher, Joshua Donen (Gone Girl, The Quick and the Dead), Charlize Theron (Girlboss, Hatfields & McCoys) and Cean Chaffin (Gone Girl, Fight Club) are executive producers. The first season of Mindhunter has been Certified Fresh with a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes and was lauded by critics for its reinvention of the crime procedural, when it premiered in October 2017.

Seasons 1 and 2 are currently available for streaming on Netflix.