Mindhunter Season 3 on Hold Until David Fincher Finishes Next Movie

Fans of Netflix's crime drama Mindhunter had a long wait between the first season and the second. Despite being renewed just one month after its October 2017 debut, the second season didn't hit Netflix until August 2019. Since then, fans have been eagerly awaiting news of if there would be a third season and, if so, when they can expect it to come to screens. Unfortunately, it seems like it's going to be another significant wait. The third season of Mindhunter is on hold until executive producer David Fincher makes his next movie.

The information comes from a recent The Hollywood Reporter profile of Mindhunter star Jonathan Groff. In the profile, it's noted that the season is on hold for Fincher to focus on his next feature. The film in question appears to be Netflix's Mank, the biopic about Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz. That film reportedly entered production earlier this month. If that information is correct, it could mean that Netflix is eying an awards season release for Mank in 2020. In theory, that could push a Mindhunter Season 3 into a possible release of 2021 or even 2022 -- a gap that would be in keeping with the previous gap in seasons. Granted, all of this operates under the assumption that a third season of Mindhunter is even coming. There has been no word of Netflix renewing the series just yet.

Even if Netflix does renew Mindhunter for a third season, Fincher is going to be pretty busy even beyond Mank. It was recently reported that Fincher will team with the original writer of the Hollywood classic Chinatown for a prequel series establishing the character of Jake Gittes, Jack Nicholson's character in the film. Robert Towne, who won an Oscar for writing the original film, will pair with Fincher on the project.

Per Deadline, who broke the news, "The script will focus on the life of private investigator Jake Gittes (played by Jack Nicholson in the original film) before the events of Chinatown as he tackles cases involving L.A.'s one percent, endemic corruption, infrastructure and natural resources. Towne, Fincher and frequent Fincher collaborator Josh Donen (House of Cards, Gone Girl) will executive produce if the prequel script goes to series."

The first two seasons of Mindhunter are now streaming on Netflix.

What do you think about the reported delay for a potential Mindhunter Season 3? Let us know in the comments below.