Jessica Chastain Will Not Star in True Detective Season 2

Updated at 11:05 am EST

Almost from the beginning of True Detective‘s stellar first season — which starred Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey as flawed but fascinating detectives — fans have been speculating who would be cast in the second season of the anthology series. The Nerdist reported Wednesday that the show’s producers offered Zero Dark Thirty star Jessica Chastain a spot in the 2015 season.

But reps for Chastain and HBO denied the rumor, according to E! News. Sadly, Chastain will not join the show.

Bring on Chastain would have been a boon for the series. Not only did Chastain storm the film industry in 2011 with starring roles in a total of seven films, she also earned a host of awards and nominations for her role as a determined CIA officer in 2012’s Zero Dark Thirty, including an Oscar nod. (She was also included in the 2012 TIME 100.)

Critics of the show, who thought that it was misogynist and gave no female perspective, have also been eager to see a woman in one of the lead roles for the second season. Creator Nic Pizzolatto addressed the casting issue after the first season’s finale in an interview with Alan Sepinwall at Hitfix: “This is really early, but I’ll tell you (it’s about) hard women, bad men and the secret occult history of the United States transportation system.”

[E! News]

This post was updated to debunk rumors of Chastain’s casting in True Detective.