True Detective's Creator Wrote A Michael Fassbender Western That Somehow Became A New Magnificent Seven

There may be a new "Magnificent Seven" series in the works with Michael Fassbender in the lead role. "True Detective" creator Nic Pizzolatto spoke about the upcoming project at the Austin Film Festival today, where /Film's Ryan Scott was in attendance. According to the writer, the Western was actually conceived of as an original project before Amazon (which owns the rights to MGM titles including that of the 1960 Steve McQueen classic) requested he give it a title change to make it fit within the studio's existing IP.

"I wrote two episodes of a Western I created just because I wanted to have fun, and everything I was seeing on TV, I hated," Pizzolatto told the audience. Though the writer is himself known for shaping the modern prestige TV landscape with his moody 2014 mystery show "True Detective," he says he's not very into "dour," "prestige" shows that take several episodes to get started. "When did that start?" Pizzolatto asked at a festival panel today. "I don't remember having three episodes to f**k around. I had to hit the moon out the gate."

With that in mind, Pizzolatto says he "ended up making this really classicist western that was very romantic and funny and [had] good action." He revealed that Fassbender got on board in the lead role, but in late 2022, the show just didn't seem to sell. "Nobody wanted it," Pizzolatto said, adding, "We figured ... it was some kind of market thing wherein everybody who wanted a Western already had theirs at that point, or was knee-deep in production on one." After three months, though, Pizzolatto says Amazon returned to him with an offer. "They came back to us months later and said, "Hey, could you tell this exact same story, just call it 'The Magnificent Seven?'"

Given that the Western is apparently not based on the 1960 film or the Akira Kurosawa movie that inspired it, Pizzolatto was understandably hesitant. "Well, no, Jill, I mean, this is mine. I created it," he recalled telling his agent, also noting that he was worried about ownership over the story. As he told the story to the audience, his agent responded, "You don't own anything you've ever written because you sold it. That's why somebody else is making your show right now." Laughing, Pizzolatto said that he accepted the offer after that, and the series seems to be a go. "I believe we're doing that," Pizzolatto confirmed, noting that production and additional casting would have to wait until the SAG-AFTRA strike's resolution.

"They have the first two episodes and a bible," the writer revealed, noting that the folks he worked with at Amazon are "super high on it." A Fassbender-led Western written by Pizzolatto sounds amazing, but it won't actually be the first time the novelist and screenwriter (who's also set to help pen Marvel's "Blade") has been involved in "The Magnificent Seven" franchise; he also co-wrote the Antoine Fuqua-directed 2016 remake of the film. The project sounds like it's still in early development and does not yet have a release date.