It’s only been a few months since John Grisham published A Time For Mercy, the follow-up to his 1989 classic A Time To Kill, but it’s looking like it’ll get a screen adaptation soon. According to sources cited by Deadline, HBO has acquired rights to 2020’s A Time For Mercy in order to adapt it as a limited series, and Matthew McConaughey is in final negotiations to reprise his role from the 1996 film.
While not confirmed at this point by HBO, Deadline’s sources claim the plan is to adapt the book as an eight-to-ten episode limited series. HBO has apparently tapped Lorenzo di Bonaventura to produce, who was an executive at Warner Bros in the 90s when A Time To Kill was made.
While Grisham has written three books in the A Time To Kill series, with each following McConaughey’s character attorney Jake Brigance, the second book, Sycamore Row, has never been adapted. When McConaughey promoted the release of A Time For Mercy on his Instagram last year it gave fans hope that he would return to the iconic role, and now it’s looking like that chance will become a reality.
In the latest book, A Time For Mercy, Brigance returns as the main character, this time taking on the case of Drew Gamble, a shy 16-year-old boy on trial for the murder of a local deputy. With the townsfolk calling for the death penalty, Brigance finds there is more to the case than meets the eye.
With sources saying HBO is still looking for writers and a director, the sequel adaptation is likely to be a while off yet.
