Rian Johnson Calls POKER FACE Continuation Idea with Peter Dinklage a "Wild Swing" That Could Be "So Much Fun"
This week, it was announced that the great original series Poker Face was canceled at Peacock after two seasons. All the details weren’t disclosed, but it sounds as though the streamer decided not to move forward with the show after the departure of the lead actress Natasha Lyonne. But right from when the announcement was made, creator Rian Johnson was ready to pivot with a new lead character taking on the role of “bullshit detector” Charlie Cale.
At the Monday premiere of Johnson’s latest film, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, the writer/director told Deadline he “would be so excited” to pull off a new iteration of Poker Face with Peter Dinklage as the amateur sleuth in season 3.
He explained on the red carpet:
“Look, it’s very early days. We’re gonna see if we can take it out and get it going. But I love Peter, I’ve always wanted to work with him. And I would be so excited if we can get this version of it up and going. It’s a wild swing, and I just feel like it could be so much fun, going forward with the show.”
In a joint statement from Johnson and Lyonne, who also serves as an executive producer on the show, they noted they’ve “been germinating this next move together since writing the season two finale,” adding that it’s “the perfect way to keep it rolling.”
Johnson’s long-term hope is for the show to continue to evolve with a new actor every couple of seasons in the role of Charlie, former casino employer and human lie-detector who is forced to go on the run after witnessing a casino boss commit a crime. Traveling the country in her 1969 Plymouth Barracuda, Charlie puts her superpower to use solving homicides everywhere she stops, while staying on the lam.
I will miss Lyonne in the role of Charlie Cale. She was so funny and unique. But I think Dinklage would also be a blast to watch, so let’s hope that Peacock goes for the idea to press on.
