An accomplished actor, producer, author, and even professor, Matthew McConaughey has led a fruitful and prolific storytelling career — and with a slew of upcoming projects in the works, he shows no signs of slowing down. The Texan superstar, who celebrated his 50th birthday in 2019, has built a tremendous resume over the course of nearly 30 years. From rom-com mainstay to critical darling and beyond, he’s earned his place among the industry titans with whom he regularly works. And having eclipsed the half-century mark, his intriguing slate of upcoming projects show the McConaissence is far from finished.
Matthew McConaughey got his breakout moment in Richard Linklater’s Dazed and Confused (1993) while studying Radio-Television-Film at The University of Texas at Austin. His charm and ability persuaded Linklater to bulk up his character Wooderson’s role in the classic high school coming-of-age drama. He continued to build his brand with supporting roles through the 90s, and he became a sex symbol during the 2000s by way of his frequent starring in romantic comedies like The Wedding Planner (2001), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), Failure to Launch (2006), and Fool’s Gold (2008).
Then, in the 2010s, McConaughey managed a career pivot that saw him explore more challenging and dramatic lead roles. He earned an Academy Award for Best Actor in the 2013 drama Dallas Buyers Club and received widespread praise for his role in Season 1 of True Detective opposite Woody Harrelson. The directors with whom he’s worked over the years are a veritable “who’s who” of Hollywood powerhouse talent: Spielberg, Scorsese, Nolan, Linklater, Ritchie — the list goes on and on. He created the Script-to-Screen course at his alma mater UT Austin to provide students a window into the industry and process of filmmaking, serving as a professor of practice and the university’s Minister of Culture. He and his wife Camila Alves stress philanthropy through their Just Keep Livin’ foundation. His memoir, Greenlights, became a New York Times bestseller. He recently confirmed he has considered a run for Governor of Texas. Carrying this diverse momentum into the 2020s, McConaughey looks to continue practicing his craft while also broadening his reach and impact.
A Time for Mercy
In 1996, McConaughey starred in the courtroom drama A Time to Kill as lawyer Jake Brigance, his breakthrough as a leading man. Though it featured the then-relative-unknown McConaughey at its center, the star-studded cast included Samuel L. Jackson as Brigance’s client, Sandra Bullock as his counsel, and Kevin Spacey as his ruthless legal opponent. The film is based on a John Grisham novel of the same name which tells the story of southern racial politics through the lens of its central court case. McConaughey would use his success in this outing to earn a similar role in Spielberg’s 1997 film Amistad.
And now, Deadline reports that HBO is developing a limited series adaptation of Grisham’s sequel, A Time for Mercy, with McConaughey set to star. With the praise for McConaughey’s impassioned performance in the original film, combined with his stellar record in prestige television, the move makes complete sense. A timely story about race relations and the American criminal justice system presents the filmmakers an opportunity for poignant social commentary, provided they can update the 1996 approach to more contemporary attitudes.
Sing 2
McConaughey ventured into voice acting with two animated 2016 releases: Laika’s Kubo and the Two Strings and the jukebox musical Sing. In the former, he played the supporting role of Beetle. In the latter, he again played an anthropomorphized animal—t his time in the lead role of a koala named Buster Moon. The film follows Buster as he hosts a singing competition to drum up business for his failing theater.
The movie did well enough with critics and audiences, holding a 72% on Rotten Tomatoes and bringing in over $600M at the box office on a $75M budget. As such, Illumination Entertainment has a sequel in the works, bringing back McConaughey to lead the star-studded returning cast which features Reese Witherspoon, Scarlett Johansson, Nick Kroll, John C. Reilly, and Taron Egerton among others. The film is set to release in December of 2021, and will follow Buster and company as they attempt to lure an elusive rock star to another singing competition.
The Gentlemen (TV)
Guy Ritchie returned to his British gangster roots with a classy twist in the form of the 2020 release The Gentlemen, which starred Matthew McConaughey as an American ex-pat marijuana magnate living in England looking to offload his empire and retire. The film stylishly hit all of Ritchie’s signature poetics, and McConaughey fit snugly into the British underworld that has become the director’s trademark. The film performed well, earning generally positive reviews from critics and taking home $115M at the box office against a $22M budget.
Consequently, Miramax and Ritchie struck a deal to develop a The Gentlemen television series, as reported by Deadline. The show is to be written and directed by Ritchie, another in a growing list of high-tier Hollywood directors making forays into television. McConaughey is not yet attached to return as Mickey Pearson, nor are the remainder of the ensemble cast from the feature film, but with Guy Ritchie aboard and McConaughey’s TV track record, there’s every chance the parties will reach an agreement.
True Detective
This aspect of McConaughey’s future revolves mostly around speculation, but his success with season 1 of True Detective is well-known. He and season 1 co-star Woody Harrelson served as executive producers on the show’s most recent third season, which itself revived the series after a critically disastrous second season. The duo’s onscreen characters make a brief cameo appearance in the form of a newspaper clipping, leading fans to believe season 4 could feature a return of the cynical investigator Rust Cohle and his counterpart Marty Hart.
The Billionaire’s Vinegar
Matthew McConaughey was at one time attached to the film adaptation of the 2008 nonfiction book The Billionaire’s Vinegar: The Mystery of the World’s Most Expensive Bottle of Wine. The story focuses on a bottle of wine purported to have been owned by Thomas Jefferson sold for a record amount to a member of the Forbes family, but when questions arise about its true origin, scandal ensues. In 2015, Deadline reported the attachment of McConaughey, as well as the involvement of producers Todd Black, James Lassiter, Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch, and Will Smith, following their engagement on The Pursuit Of Happyness (2006) and Seven Pounds (2008). The property seems to be in development hell as of 2021, but regardless, Matthew McConaughey has a full slate of exciting opportunities ahead of him.
