HBO Developing A Time to Kill Sequel Miniseries With Matthew McConaughey

HBO is looking to bring the adaptation of John Grisham’s A Time to Kill back, developing a sequel limited series with Matthew McConaughey set to return. Deadline reports that the network has acquired the rights to A Time For Mercy, Grisham’s recent sequel novel, which centers on the role McConaughey played in the 1996 film, Jake Brigance.

Development on the series is still in the early stages, but the site reports that it would be eight to ten episodes with Lorenzo di Bonaventura set to produce. The sequel novel was published last year and is described as follows:

A Time For Mercy continues to follow Brigance as he finds himself embroiled in a deeply divisive trial when the court appoints him attorney for Drew Gamble, a timid sixteen-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. Many in Clanton want a swift trial and the death penalty, but Brigance digs in and discovers that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Brigance’s fierce commitment to saving Drew from the gas chamber puts his career and the safety of his family on the line.

The original film helped launch McConaughey into the A-List and also starred Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson, Kiefer Sutherland, and Donald Sutherland. It was based on Grisham’s 1989 novel and saw McConaughey play Jake, a fearless young lawyer in Clinton, Mississippi who defends a black man accused of murdering two white men who raped his ten-year-old daughter. The film was a hit, grossing $152 million worldwide against a $40 million budget