A Time to Kill sequel is in the works with Matthew McConaughey set to star

Matthew McConaughey is set to star in a sequel to A Time to Kill, the movie that helped launch his career back in 1996.

According to Deadline, HBO has acquired the rights to A Time for Mercy, the sequel to the John Grisham novel that A Time to Kill was based on. However, this time around, the novel is set to be adapted into a limited series rather than a movie. 

In A Time to Kill, McConaughey plays Jake Brigance, a young lawyer defending a Black man (Samuel L. Jackson) who's accused of murdering two white men who raped his young daughter. The courtroom drama also stars Sandra Bullock and Kiefer Sutherland.

In the follow-up novel, A Time for Mercy sees Brigance appointed to defend a 16-year-old boy accused of murdering a local deputy. The divisive case puts both Brigance's career and the safety of his family at risk.

The series will reportedly consist of between eight and 10 episodes, with Lorenzo di Bonaventura, who was a Warner Bros. exec when A Time to Kill was made, on board to produce. 

After his leading role in A Time to Kill, McConaughey had a change of pace and went on to star in several '00s rom-coms like The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, and Failure to Launch. More recently, he's starred in movies like the mystery thriller Serenity and Guy Ritchie's action comedy The Gentlemen. 

While we wait for A Time for Mercy to hit the small screen, make sure you've caught up on the best TV shows of 2020 first.