4_2 McConaugheyOver the weekend, Mike brought news that Christopher Nolan had zeroed in on his star for Interstellar, in fact offering the lead to Matthew McConaughey. Straight shooter that he, McConaughey confirmed over a phone interview with the Star Tribune this morning that his presence in front of Nolan’s camera was a done deal:

Nolan’s projects are notoriously secretive, and McConaughey revealed no details other than to say “I’m confirming” that he had accepted the role.

So little is known about Nolan’s sci-fi epic that we can’t even confirm the name of the character he’s playing. Rumors persist that the lead role is named Cooper, but even the plot remains a mystery. Originally to be directed by Steven Spielberg from a Jonathan Nolan script, the Dark Knight director joined his brother some time after Spielberg bowed out. Supposedly the famed director added a few ideas of his own while retooling the script, which reportedly journals “a heroic interstellar voyage to the farthest borders of our scientific understanding”. For now, that’s all we have to go on.

McConaughey and Nolan collaborating represents something of a leap for both men. This will only be Nolan’s second time with an American lead, while McConaughey continues to embrace more serious work as he distances himself from the rom-coms that served as a cornerstone of his career up to a few years ago. Nolan’s penchant for secrecy will keep news of production on a slow drip, but you can believe we’ll be keeping a very close eye on this one.