Just like Serial and The Jinx, Netflix's latest documentary series Making a Murderer has viewers eager to put on their detective hats in an attempt to find out who was behind the murder of 25-year-old photographer Teresa Halbach.
The 10-part examination of Wisconsin resident Steven Avery’s legal turmoil and Avery’s possible second consecutive wrongful conviction for the 2005 murder of the young woman, has been the main topic of conversation on social media since it was aired on December 18.
Of course it's only a matter of time before Making a Murderer is adapted into a big budget Hollywood adaptation and speculation has already begun about who should be cast in the movie. Here are our top picks:
Director: Cary Fukunaga
Having already worked with Netflix on the brand's first original feature Beasts of No Nation, which he directed, wrote and filmed, it's fair to say Cary Fukunaga knows how to translate hard-hitting experiences and dysfunctional tales to the screen while keeping the rawness of the story.
Also behind HBO's gritty crime drama True Detective, which he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Fukunaga has proved time and time again that he's able to engage with viewers from the get-go.
Writer (s): Coen brothers
With an impressive twelve Academy Award nominations on their CVs, plus winning Best Original Screenplay for 1996's Fargo and Best Picture, Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay for 2007's No Country for Old Men, Joel and Ethan Coen are right at home when it comes to dark subject matters and tackling scripts that deal with violence and mayhem.
If you weren't shouting at the TV in frustration watching Making a Murderer first time round, the Coen Bros. are guaranteed to have you throwing popcorn at the big screen.
Producer: George Clooney
He's known for having one of the most charitable hearts in Hollywood and has proven to be an amazing humanitarian and activist. From his current mission to stop the human rights atrocities in the Darfur region of Sudan, and his recent trip to Edinburgh to visit a cafe staffed by people who were formerly homeless, Clooney could bring the compassion and sensitivity needed to deliver such a heart-rending movie.
Clooney is also no stranger to instigating petitions and was vocal about trying to get his celebrity pals to circulate his petition supporting The Interview film featuring the assassination of Kim Jong-un back in 2014. With over 100,000 people having signed a Change.org petition and more than 18,000 signing a White House petition asking for a presidential pardon for Avery and his nephew Brendan Dassey, it sounds like this could be a campaign George would want to get behind, or at least something he might want to bankroll.
Steven Avery: Jeremy Renner
How could we forget Jeremy Renner's jaw-dropping performance in 2008's The Hurt Locker? He has the likeability factor down and has played enough shifty characters to make viewers question the outcome of the movie. And there is prosthetic potential for Renner and Steven Avery to look pretty uncanny.
Brendan Dassey: Jonah Hill
There may be a sizeable age gap between 16-year-old Dassey and 32-year-old Hill, but Jonah's baby-face and student-like charm could make a powerful on-screen performance. From playing a goofball teenager in 2007's Superbad to portraying an eccentric power-hungry stockbroker in 2013's The Wolf of Wall Street, Hill pretty much succeeds at any role he sets his sights on.
Ken Kratz: Zach Galifianakis
Kratz, the former District Attorney of Calumet County, has lots of secrets in the cupboard that unfold throughout the documentary and would need someone with a certain kind of swag and confident glint in their eye to make his character convincing.
We think Zach Galifianakis' comedic timing and wittiness could help him embody the role of a man that thinks he is invincible in the eyes of authority - and he wouldn't have to worry about trimming down his facial hair!
Dolores Avery: Kathy Bates
Think back to Kathy Bates circa 1990 in Misery. The woman can do no wrong. She is a stellar actress that can adapt to any role she is tasked with. Bates can bring the strength and control needed to the role of a helpless mum who will stop at nothing to set her son free.
Laura Delaney
