Mahershala Ali Reportedly Eyed for New Season of ‘True Detective’

Not only is he a newly crowned Oscar winner, but House of Cards alum Mahershala Ali just might be a new leading man.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ali is being eyed by HBO executives to potentially be the star of the next season of True Detective.

Up Next: HBO Reveals Official Runtimes For ‘Game Of Thrones’ Season 7

While the reality is that HBO has yet to officially greenlight the third season, Ali is said to be in early talks to step on board if it does happen.

Speculatively, there could even be a chance the Hidden Figures star’s involvement could have an impact on whether or not it even happens. Ali is a highly in-demand star right now and HBO may be looking to use that to their advantage.

The first season of True Detective is considered by some to be among the best seasons of television ever, but the second was much more divisive and not critically well-received.

More: HBO Releases First Teaser Trailer For ‘Ballers’ Season 3

Casey Bloys, the president of programming for HBO has been vocal about wanting to bring the show back, and to even have the series creator, Nic Pizzolatto, remain involved.

In an interview last year, Bloys said, “We’re open to someone else writing it with Nic supervising it; it’s a really valuable franchise for us. It’s not dead; I’m just not sure we have the right take for a third season — yet.”

Ali won an Oscar and a Golden Globe for his role in Moonlight, and he’s also a double Netflix starring actor, having appeared in the aforementioned House of Cards as well as Marvel’s Luke Cage.

At this time, neither Ali nor his representation has commented on the rumors of his possible involvement with True Detective.