Checking In on the McConaissance: What's Next for Matthew McConaughey?

Just a little over five months ago, Matthew McConaughey's career revival hit its peak. After a run of strong work that included great supporting roles (Magic Mike, Bernie, The Wolf of Wall Street), eccentric leading roles (The Paperboy, Killer Joe), and work in TV (Eastbound & Down, True Detective), the Texas boy won the big prize: an Oscar for his work in Dallas Buyers Club.

But McConaughey was not done. Thanks to his acclaimed work in True Detective, he's the odds-on favorite to win the Best Actor in a Drama trophy tonight at the Primetime Emmy Awards. Within six months, he will have gotten himself half the way to an EGOT. That's pretty spectacular progress for the guy who starred in Ghosts of Girlfriends Past not too long ago.

But even if when he wins the Emmy tonight, this won't be the last we'll see of McConaughey. The McConaissance is blasting ahead at full speed – and he's got at least three big roles coming up to look forward to – plus one rumored that we're excited about.

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Interstellar (November)

McConaughey is the male lead in Christopher Nolan's latest film. We don't know much about what he's doing just yet – only that he's an engineer exploring a wormhole and his daughter grows up to be Jessica Chastain. He also talks about Murphy's Law a lot. Still, Nolan projects are always buzzy, and this one is positively dripping with prestige.

Sea of Trees (2015)

This Gus Van Sant film – another major auteur for McConaughey to add to his belt – sounds moody and intense: it's about an American (McConaughey, presumably) who travels to Japan to commit suicide. There, he meets a Japanese man (Ken Watanabe) also seeking to kill himself, and they travel together to learn about themselves. Dark to be certain, but McConaughey reportedly called the script "the best he's read in five years," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Magic Mike XXL (July 2015)

One of the brightest spots of the McConaissance has undoubtedly been McConaughey's role as Dallas, the strip club owner with a manipulative streak. It was sensational work, both playing with his own persona and expanding upon it. There's some word McConaughey may not be doing the sequel, but we certainly hope he finds the time for even a cameo. It'd be a shame to not see him revisit the role that brought such a spark back to his work.

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The Stand (rumored)

Stephen King's novel has been something of an insurmountable obstacle for directors in the past. Those from Ben Affleck to Scott Cooper have been attached, only to fall by the wayside. Now, The Fault in Our Stars director Josh Boone seems to be attached, and McConaughey is rumored to be an option to play Randall Flagg. It's an intriguing idea, though we're skeptical of whether the project will really be getting off the ground any time soon.

This article was originally published at http://www.thewire.com/entertainment/2014/08/checking-in-on-the-mcconaissance-whats-next-for-matthew-mcconaughey/379093/

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