True Detective season 1 is one of the finest seasons of prestige television and it put creator Nic Pizzolatto on the radar of some of the biggest studios in Hollywood. After taking a step back from the HBO crime-drama IP, Pizzolatto has ventured to tackle new projects, including an attempt at MCU’s reboot of Blade.
In 2023, Pizzolatto was announced to be working on a television adaptation of the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven. In an interview, Pizzolatto spoke about how the project, which will star Michael Fassbender in the lead role, came into existence. At the same time, Pizzolatto also revealed that the series was nearly scrapped before Amazon scooped in to save it. Here is what Pizzolatto said about the new Magnificent Seven series.
True Detective Creator Reveals How Amazon Saved Michael Fassbender-led Magnificent Seven Show
In March 2023, True Detective creator Nic Pizzolatto was reported to be developing a new original Western series for Amazon Prime Video. However, a month later, it was announced that Amazon had decided to repurpose the series to work as a television adaptation of the 1960 film The Magnificent Seven.
In an interview with /Film, Pizzolatto opened up about the conceptualization of the series and its transformation into a Magnificent Seven series with Michael Fassbender leading the cast.
Pizzolatto revealed he created an original Western series simply because he wanted to have some fun with his storytelling. Pizzolatto stated that he aimed to make a classicist Western with romance, humor, and action. Despite having attached Fassbender as the lead, Pizzolatto struggled to sell the show.
“Nobody wanted it. We figured … it was some kind of market thing wherein everybody who wanted a Western already had theirs at that point, or was knee-deep in production on one.”
Pizzolatto made the above statement, explaining why the series initially failed to find any buyers. However, Pizzolatto revealed that Amazon returned to the negotiation table and wanted him to make the show, albeit with a title change. The studio suggested that Pizzolatto tweak the show’s title and make it The Magnificent Seven television series. Thus, the project was greenlit by Amazon and was saved from disappearing into oblivion.
True Detective Creator Was Critical of True Detective: Night Country
Before working on his Western series, Nic Pizzolatto was expected to return for the fourth season of his hit anthology crime-drama True Detective. Pizzolatto even stated that he had some ideas for a potential fourth installment. However, in March 2022, it was announced that the fourth installment would be helmed by Issa López and would be called True Detective: Night Country.
Despite the generally positive reception towards the fourth season, Pizzolatto was reportedly critical of it. Pizzolatto allegedly called the fourth season’s connection to season 1 stupid in a since-deleted social media post. Moreover, Pizzolatto also clarified that he had no involvement in the writing of the fourth installment. As a result, Pizzolatto’s comments caused quite a stir among fans on social media.
Issa López, who served as the showrunner for the fourth season, responded to Pizzolatto’s criticism by stating that he was entitled to his opinion. True Detective: Night Country stars Jodie Foster and Kali Reis as Detectives Liz Danvers and Evangeline Navarro, who investigate the disappearance of eight men from a research station, in the fictional town of Ennis, Alaska.
All four seasons of True Detective are streaming on Max.
