At one point in time, Steven Spielberg was set to direct the thriller Cape Fear, while Martin Scorsese was attached to direct the historical drama Schindler’s List. Then Scorsese decided to step away from Schindler’s List, a choice that coincided with Spielberg deciding that Cape Fear was too violent for him. So the directors traded movies – resulting in Scorsese directing Robert De Niro and Juliette Lewis to Oscar nominations for Cape Fear and Spielberg turning Schindler’s List into a Best Picture winner. Now, Spielberg and Scorsese are teaming up to executive produce a TV series adaptation of Cape Fear, with Nick Antosca on board as executive producer and showrunner – and with production underway, Deadline has learned that Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Ted Levine (The Silence of the Lambs), and Margarita Levieva (Daredevil: Born Again) are in the cast, playing major recurring roles.
Perlman, Levine, and Levieva join a cast that includes the previously announced Amy Adams (Man of Steel), Patrick Wilson (The Conjuring), Javier Bardem (Skyfall), CCH Pounder (Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight), Anna Baryshnikov (Love Lies Bleeding), Jamie Hector (Bosch), Lily Collias (Good One), Joe Anders (Bonus Track), and Malia Pyles (Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin). Levieva is taking on a role that was previously assigned to Clara Wong (The Eyes of My Mother). It’s not clear why the recasting was necessary.
Coming our way from Amblin Television and UCP, a division of Universal Studio Group, this version of Cape Fear is said to be “as an unconventional take on the IP” that turns the story into a tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century. In it, a storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Adams’ character) and Tom Bowden (Wilson) when Max Cady (played by Bardem), a notorious killer from their past, gets out of prison. The story will be told over the course of ten episodes. The show is set up at Apple TV+.
The Cape Fear story began with a novel called The Executioners by John D. MacDonald. First published in 1957, that book received a film adaptation in 1962 that was directed by J. Lee Thompson (who was working from storyboards devised by original director Alfred Hitchcock). Released in 1991, Scorsese’s Cape Fear was a second take on the material. It’s said that Antosca has been obsessed with the Cape Fear movies since he was a kid. His previous credits include Hannibal, The Forest, Channel Zero, Brand New Cherry Flavor, Antlers, The Act, Candy, and A Friend of the Family.
In addition to Spielberg, Scorsese, Antosca, Adams, and Bardem, the Cape Fear TV series is executive produced by Alex Hedlund of Eat the Cat and Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey of Amblin Television, plus Morten Tyldum, the director of the first episode.
What do you think of Ron Perlman, Ted Levine, and Margarita Levieva being cast in the Cape Fear TV series? Let us know by leaving a comment below.
