Forget Loki and Batman. Perry Mason is about to get his own origin story, with Matthew Rhys playing a younger version of the famed defense lawyer.
Variety reports the Americans star will take the lead role in limited series Perry Mason for HBO, playing the character made famous by Raymond Burr as he lives check-to-check as a “low-rent private investigator” in 1932 Los Angeles.
The series will likely delve into material from the original books by Erle Stanley Gardner, who wrote over 80 novels and short stories about Perry and his legal team, the first of which was published in 1933.
Sure enough, the show’s synopsis says it will center on a child kidnapping case, which simultaneously reveals a “fractured city” and offers Perry — who’s haunted by his experiences in war-torn France and suffering the effects of a broken marriage — a pathway to redemption when he takes it on.
It’s no surprise then that True Detective‘s Nic Pizzolatto was briefly attached, though he’s since had to leave the project to focus on season three of the detective drama. Also gone is Robert Downey Jr., who was originally lined up to play Perry way back in 2011 when the project was still a feature-length movie.
Robert’s not fussed though. He remains on board as executive producer, and had this to say about his “new best friend” Matthew:
"Now it seems to me the place to start is at the beginning."
Perry Mason
“And it seems to me the beginning of any great project is casting my new best friend Matthew Rhys.”
Robert Downey Jr.
Executive Producer pic.twitter.com/jZl6Mm0GGx— Robert Downey Jr (@RobertDowneyJr) January 14, 2019
Production looks set to get underway soon, which means this might be airing as soon as late 2019.
Are you excited to see Matthew as the great Perry Mason?
