Netflix's ice-cold serial killer drama Mindhunter may have returned to the streaming service for its second outing last month, but fans should be wary of a delay when watching the clock for future seasons.

That's because the show's creative engine (and frequent director) David Fincher is up to his neck in pre-production on his first movie since 2014's Gone Girl – a biopic centred on Citizen Kane screenwriter Herman Mankiewicz, titled Mank, which will reunite him with Netflix.

Fincher's new film is certainly a fascinating beast, not least because it'll be in black and white and mark his first collaboration with Oscar winner Gary Oldman, but also due to the fact that Mank was written by the filmmaker's late father Jack and was originally supposed to be his follow-up to 1997's The Game.

Do passion projects get anymore personal than that?

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Related: Mindhunter star reveals how its serial killer characters look so true to life

While we must remember that Mindhunter hasn't actually been renewed for a third season (at the time of writing), the streaming platform would be foolish to put the brakes on this train and the stalling factors of its theoretical return run deeper than Fincher's availability.

As followers of the Zodiac director will know, the man is Hollywood's most microscopic perfectionist since Stanley Kubrick. Fincher likes to capture the same scene up to 20+ times on set, with various camera set-ups, so imagine the time it takes to complete just one episode of the TV show.

He only directs three to four episodes per season, but Fincher even applies these surgical techniques to his producing responsibilities – not like that's a bad thing. Bill Tench actor Holt McCallany previously said in an interview with Thrill List that the filmmaker refused to kickstart production on season 2 until the scripts were 100% tight.

McCallany's colleague Jonathan Groff (who plays Holden Ford) reflected on Fincher's process during the season 1 shoot, noting (via IndieWire): "David was really specific with us about every single word, and every single turn of the scene; he was critically specific about the purpose. On the days of shooting, we would go in the room, sit down, and talk about how leaning forward could change the dynamic of a conversation."

With the results plain to see across each of Mindhunter's 19 episodes – not to mention masterpieces like The Social Network and Seven – it's hard to knock Fincher's meticulous approach, so expect nothing less when the series gets the go-ahead.

Netflix

Related: Mindhunter's Jonathan Groff recalls "intense" season 2 scene that was difficult to film

Once the show receives the official greenlight from Netflix, it would typically take around two years for a complete script-to-release turnaround – excluding Fincher's cinematic endeavours (let's just pretend his precious time wasn't wasted on World War Z's scrapped sequel).

But the director's full commitment to Mank – cameras are scheduled to roll this autumn – means that he'll be embedded in that world for at least another 18 months if you consider the post-production stage and likely press tour.

With this in mind, Mindhunter enthusiasts could be twiddling their thumbs for over three years before any new episodes are released.

This is still a conservative estimate to make, though, because it's easy to forget that Fincher is in fact a human being and will need a break of some sort after finishing Mank.

On the bright side, it's an estimate, of course, that assumes that Fincher doesn't intend to sit back and let series writers Joshua Donen and Courtenay Miles take more of the reins as showrunners.

Netflix

Related: What Mindhunter gets so right that other true crime shows get wrong

Let's hope he does – because can we really wait that long to see if Brian is turning into a serial killer, or whether the infamous Ted Bundy will feature as an interview subject?

Mindhunter seasons 1 and 2 are now available to stream on Netflix.



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