Mindhunter Season 3 Still Sounds Unlikely According to Cinematographer

Reports emerged late last year that a third season of Netflix‘s Mindhunter was put on hold indefinitely so series creator David Fincher could focus on the film he was making for the streaming service, with cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt recently noting that he was unaware if there were any updates on the third season’s progress, casting doubt on a third season ever moving forward. While true crime enthusiasts have a number of different projects on various platforms to enjoy, Mindhunter earned a passionate following not only for its compelling narrative and interpretation of real-life events, but also its engaging visual style, which Messerschmidt helped bring to life.

“I don’t. I don’t. We just finished this movie [Mank] and I’ve heard things are on hold for a little bit. We’ll see. Who knows?” Messerschmidt shared with Collider when asked about if he knew of updates for Season Three. “But it would be an honor to go back. I love working with David and adore the cast and the crew, and it’s been an incredible period of my life for certain. I’ve been really blessed to have the opportunity to work on it and contribute to it. It’s been particularly important and poignant in my career. But yeah, I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on.”

Despite this disappointing news, we shouldn’t consider all hope to be lost for the project. While the first season of the series debuted in 2017, the second season debuted in 2019, with the scope and scale of the series requiring more time to pass between each season than some of Netflix’s other offerings. With Mank set to debut later this year, it’s possible that Fincher could return to Mindhunter to move forward with a new season.

Sadly, another complication with the show’s future is that, based on how much time had passed between production wrapping on Season Two and lack of updates on Season Three, the series’ stars were released from their contracts and are allowed to pursue other endeavors. When, or if, Fincher is able to commit to a third season, it will be dependent on whether the cast is available.

“David is focused on directing his first Netflix film Mank and on producing the second season of Love, Death, and Robots,” Netflix said in a statement earlier this year. “He may revisit Mindhunter again in the future, but in the meantime felt it wasn’t fair to the actors to hold them from seeking other work while he was exploring new work of his own.”

Stay tuned for details on Season Three of Mindhunter.

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