Colin Farrell Officially Confirmed For ‘True Detective’ Season 2: ‘I’m So Excited’

Colin Farrell has finally confirmed what’s long been suspected: The Irish actor will be starring in Season 2 of Nic Pizzolatto’s HBO series True Detective.

“I’m doing the second series. I’m so excited,” Farrell told The Sunday World.

Details are still being kept close to the vest for Season 2, and in addition to Farrell, rumors had circulated that everyone from Friday Night Lights star Taylor Kitsch to Zero Dark Thirty’s Jessica Chastain to Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss were in the running as well. Both Kitsch and Moss haven’t denied the rumors, with Moss cryptically telling The Daily Beast, “It’s always flattering to be mentioned for a job…,” while Chastain firmly shot them down to us, saying, “I’m not going to be in it.”

The 38-year-old Farrell, however, seems like an excellent fit for the hard-boiled police saga judging by his affinity for damaged, enigmatic, macho characters in films like Tigerland and In Bruges. According to Farrell, the series will start filming in the next few months.

“I know it will be eight episodes and take around four or five months to shoot,” he said. “I know very little about it, but we’re shooting in the environs of Los Angeles, which is great. It means I get to stay at home and see the kids. These are early days and all the powers that be are working out locations and schedules and trying to lock down the cast.”

Farrell added, “It’s been shown time and time again how [cable channels like] HBO have raised the bar regarding production values and fundamentally the writing that all their shows are based on.”

Back in July, series creator Pizzolatto told The Daily Beast that “there are four central roles” in Season 2, and it’s also been rumored that it will center around the “secret occult history of the transportation system” (Pizzolatto’s words) and involve the gruesome murder of a corrupt city businessman who’s body is found the night before a major transportation deal. Three police officials from three different cities converge to solve the case. Whereas Emmy winner Cary Fukunaga directed all eight episodes of Season 1, which starred Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson and earned a whopping 12 Emmy nods, Pizzolatto and Fukunaga have confirmed that Season 2 will see a few different directors at the helm. William Friedkin (The Exorcist) and Justin Lin (Fast Five) have been a couple of the names floating about.

“It’s extraordinary; it has reached a new level,” gushed Farrell of his move to cable TV. “You get to familiarize yourself with characters week after week. You get to build a life that takes a while to experience as an actor and also that takes a while to experience as a viewer. There’s just a greater sense of life to it.”