True Detective S4; Jodie Foster set to return to sleuthing after a celluloid history of mystery solving

The first pictures have emerged of the brand new season of the HBO anthology True Detective, with both its leads revealed to the world. Alongside Kali Reis is Academy Award winner Jodie Foster, once again demonstrating the lure of the limited series for many Hollywood performers compared to the slog of full-feature film productions.

HBO has released details of what fans can expect from the fourth season, which will be “centred around Detectives Liz Danvers (Foster) and Evangeline Navarro who are looking to solve the case of six men that operate the Tsalal Arctic Research Station vanishing without a trace, when the long winter night falls in Ennis, Alaska.

“The pair will have to confront the darkness they carry in themselves and dig into the haunted truths that lie buried under the eternal ice” HBO continued, also revealing that while Season One stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson will return as executive producers, creator Nic Pizzolatto will not. Jodie Foster is also listed as an executive producer for the new season, which hopes to return to resounding acclaim.

No release date has been confirmed by HBO, though given filming has wrapped for the production, many anticipate a release a little later on in the year. While you wait for that announcement, however, why not look back at Jodie Foster’s history of sleuthing in cinema?

The Silence of The Lambs (1991)

Regularly cited as one of the most influential films of the ‘90s, the adaptation of Tom Harris’ novel featured Jodie Foster appearing opposite Sir Anthony Hopkins and FBI Agent Clarice Starling, as she hunts for serial killer Buffalo Bill by building an uneasy truce with Hannibal “The Cannibal” Lecter.

The Silence of The Lambs was a critical and commercial success upon its release, with many critics pointing to the stunning performance of both Hopkins and Foster. The Academy was blown away by the film - leading to the film winning five of the biggest Oscars on offer; Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actress for Foster’s performance.

Panic Room (2002)

Perhaps not as steeped in sleuthing as The Silence of The Lambs, there was still an air of mystery surrounding David Fincher’s 2002 film Panic Room. Foster featured opposite Jared Leto, Forest Whitaker and a young Kristen Stewart.

The premise is exactly what the film’s title suggests; a mother and daughter find three robbers have broken into their home looking for the MacGuffin of the movie. Cue Foster becoming a resourceful heroine as she ensures she and her daughter survive a night inside and outside of the titular panic room.

Flightplan (2005)

Jodie Foster goes back to a straight, simple mystery in Flightplan - though on paper the concept seems wholly unbelievable, so suspend your belief reading the synopsis.

Kyle Pratt (Foster), a recently-widowed American aircraft engineer living in Berlin, flies back to the U.S. with her daughter and her husband's body. She loses her daughter during the flight and must struggle to find her while proving her sanity at the same time.

Though reviews were positive about the acting in the film, that was the only positive response gilded from the film, which currently sits at 37% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film also drew the ire of the Association of Professional Flight Attendants, who called for a boycott of the film which they felt depicted flight attendants as rude and unhelpful

Inside Man (2006)

Foster followed Flightplan up by teaming with Denzel Washington and Clive Own in the Spike Lee crime thriller Inside Man, released in 2006. Foster played Madeleine White, a Manhattan power broker who becomes involved at the request of the bank's founder Arthur Case (Christopher Plummer) to keep something in his safe deposit box protected from the robbers.

As opposed to the scathing reviews Flightplan received, Inside Man is currently sitting on a fresh rating of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, with the New York Times saying “Inside Man" works because it takes a familiar setup -- in this case, a Wall Street bank heist that mutates into a hostage crisis -- and twists it ever so slightly.”

“A particularly solid screenplay helps here, as do stars who can actually act -- this film's holy trinity being Denzel Washington, Clive Owen and Jodie Foster -- along with an excellent supporting cast and the best lineup of pusses and mugs outside”

The Mauritanian (2021)

The actress made her return to the mystery format in 2021’s The Mauritanian, directed by Scottish filmmaker Kevin Macdonald and Benedict Cumberbatch as one of the film’s producers and performers. This time, Foster plays a lawyer who is tasked to find the reasons why Mohamedou Ould Slahi had been detained in Guantanamo Bay.

Reviews for the film were positive, and it earned Jodie Foster another Best Actress gong, this time at the 78th Golden Globe awards, while her co-star Tahar Rahim was nominated for Best Actor. Sadly, the film was also based on the real life events surrounding Slahi.