True Detective Season 2: Vince Vaughn, Elisabeth Moss and Cast Rumors

August 5, 2014 12:40 PM EDT

After months of speculation and rumors, The Wrap reports that there are two new contenders for the second season of HBO’s True Detective: Vince Vaughn and Elisabeth Moss.

Even more exciting, The Wrap has legitimate-sounding details about the characters, writing that Vaughn is up for the role of the season’s “central antagonist,” Frank Semyon, a thug-turned-businessman who’s looking to profit off the construction of a high-speed railway system through his political connections. Meanwhile, Moss is said to be up for the female lead, a sheriff named Ani Bezzerides, whose “troubled upbringing has driven her to gambling and alcohol.”

HBO hasn’t yet confirmed the cast for the next season and all we seem to know for sure is what creator Nic Pizzolatto told HitFix in March about the upcoming season: “I’ll tell you (it’s about) hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.” The details about Vaughn and Moss’s reported characters fall right in line with Pizzolatto’s comments.

Then again, True Detective fans have gotten their hopes up in the past only to have them dashed against the cold hard reality of the Hollywood rumor mill. In fact, since the first season of the gritty and compelling crime drama ended in March, the internet has been flooded with so many casting rumors that it’s tough to think of a big name that hasn’t been linked to the show. The fan-created hashtag #TrueDetectiveSeason2, which saw pretty much all of Twitter throw out their dream casting (and ironic picks), didn’t help matters either.

Here’s a brief run-down of all the True Detective season two casting rumors — and debunkings — that have cropped up so far:

In May, Nerdist reported that Jessica Chastain was in the running for one of the leads. While snagging the Zero Dark Thirty star would have been a real coup for the show, Chastain quickly debunked the rumor.

Almost a week later, Deadline reported a whole gaggle of A-listers that had been linked to the show, including Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Joaquin Phoenix, Christian Bale and Josh Brolin, but gave no indication that any were legitimately in talks with HBO. Deadline also noted that there was speculation that Taylor Kitsch was being considered for a leading role.

That same week, Pizzolatto threw a curveball, telling a public radio program that they were planning to have three leads this time around. Of course, with more leads come more rumors!

Just a few weeks later, in early July, Pizzolatto upped the ante, telling the Daily Beast that there will now be four leads. Miraculously, the Internet did not break.

July report from The Wrap threw Kitsch’s name back out there, noting that the Friday Night Lights actor was a leading candidate for a main role. Also up for a starring role, according to the post, was Colin Farrell.

Also in July, vague reports swirled that Garrett Hedlund — of Tron and On The Road fame — was being considered for a part on the show.

Just a few weeks ago, the Daily Star reported that Pizzolatto was intent in casting Ewan McGregor as one of the detectives, with an unnamed show source saying, “Nic will meet personally with Ewan and we hope to make an official season two cast announcement very soon.” The report didn’t make much of a splash.

The Killing‘s Michelle Forbes has also been linked to the second season, though details are vague and it doesn’t appear to be a leading role.

Which brings us back to the most recent Vaughn/Moss reports, where, interestingly enough, The Wrap also details that Kitsch is still in the running for a detective and Farrell is close to inking a deal to star. If the report pans out, that group would fulfill the four leads we know to expect.

Yet, there’s been no official word from HBO. While most True Detective fans would love nothing more than to know who they can expect to see up on their screens for season two, until there’s an official cast list to confirm — or deny — all the rumors, it looks like we’ll all be speculating just a little longer.

Here Are All the True Detective Season 2 Casting Rumors So Far

More Must-Reads From TIME