Cape Fear coming soon to television, Apple TV+ orders project with Javier Bardem

Apple TV+ is developing its next high-profile television project with the recently announced Cape Fear, produced by Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Deadline reports that Academy Award-winning actor Javier Bardem will star in the series as killer Max Cady. He will also executive produce alongside Scorsese and Spielberg.

Cape Fear has been reimagined a few times now, with the story based on John D. Macdonald's 1957 novel The Executioners, which was adapted into the 1962 movie from director J. Lee Thompson. Thompson was heavily inspired by Alfred Hitchcock in the creation of his film, and the Apple TV+ series has been described as a "Hitchcockian thriller."

In 1991, Scorsese made his own version of Cape Fear. Scorcese's movie featured a stacked cast of actors like Scorsese's frequent collaborator, Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis. In that version, Cady was a convicted rapist seeking vengeance against his public defender, who he blames for landing him 14 years behind bars.

The upcoming series will be 10 episodes and hails from creator Nick Antosca (The Act). Previous iterations have focused on America's obsession with true crime, an appetite that has only grown more vociferous as time passes, making this story just as timely now as it was in past decades.

Deadline reports that the show version will have a slight twist on the original storyline. This time around, Cape Fear will center on a married couple, Amanda and Steve Bowden, who are both attorneys who find their lives shaken when a killer from their past, Max Cady (Bardem), gets out of prison. In previous versions, the story only had one lawyer, Samuel Bowden. This time, we'll get to see a husband and wife, both lawyers, who previously dealt with Cady somehow.

Stay tuned to 1428 Elm for more details on Cape Fear, such as casting announcements and more.