Writer-director Jeff Nichols has been drawing steady acclaim since his debut in 2007 with Shotgun Stories, which won notice on the fringes of the film festival circuit then earned a John Cassavetes Award nomination for the Independent Spirit Awards. With a growing reputation, Nichols next awed audiences at more prestigious festivals like Sundance and Cannes with his chilling thriller Take Shelter. Now hot on the heels of his third feature Mud, theatrical debut, Deadline reports Nichols has sold his next venture to Warner Bros, meaning his first studio project is on the way.
Nichols has been heading this way for a while. His first feature starred a then unknown Michael Shannon, who returned to front his second film which also boasted a powerful performance by fast-rising ingénue Jessica Chastain. Mud has been his most star stacked affair yet, with Matthew McConaughey as its titular mysterious man and Shannon pulling supporting duty alongside Reese Witherspoon and Sam Shepard. And each film offered a slightly more accessible tale, while maintaining a daring edge that makes them standout from the pack. Between the widespread critical praise and his power to attract hotly sought performers, I'm frankly surprised it took this long for a studio to snare him.
At this time we know basically nothing about what Nichols has in store for his fourth feature. The Deadline item mentions no title, no logline, no attached actors, just a production start date of February 2014. Considering their collaborative history thus far, we suspect Shannon will return in some capacity. But it's hard to imagine where Nichols will go next. It doesn't really matter though. Wherever he goes, we're on board.
