Javier Bardem scores leading role in series adaptation of Cape Fear for Apple TV+

Apple TV+ has formally given the green light to Cape Fear, which now has an Oscar winner on board as its lead actor. Cape Fear is a television series produced by two Oscar winners, Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. A third, Javier Bardem (pictured), will star and produce.



Created by Nick Antosca (The Act), Cape Fear is based on both John D. MacDonald's novel The Executioners - which inspired the 1962 feature film of the same name directed by J. Lee Thompson from storyboards devised by original director Alfred Hitchcock - as the 1991 remake directed by Scorsese.

Described as a suspenseful, Hitchcockian thriller and an examination of America's obsession with true crime in the 21st century, the 10-part series sees a storm brewing for happily married lawyers Amanda and Steve Bowden when Max Cady (played by Bardem), a notorious murderer from their past, is released from prison.

That's a slight departure from MacDonald's book and the films where only the husband is a lawyer. In the two feature films, Max was played by Robert Mitchum (1962) and Robert De Niro (1991). The married couple were played by Gregory Peck & Polly Bergen and Nick Nolte & Jessica Lange respectively.

The project quietly landed earlier this year on Apple TV+ where it was developed and where Bardem was attached before the series was greenlit.

The 1991 remake of Cape Fear was originally developed by Spielberg while Scorsese was working on Schindler's List. The two greats eventually swapped director's chairs, with Spielberg remaining involved with Cape Fear through his company Amblin Entertainment.