Cape Fear is set to get the TV drama treatment as it's been announced that Apple TV+ has commissioned a 10-part series.
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Martin Scorsese, who directed a 1991 film version of the story, will be on board as an executive producer along with Steven Spielberg and Javier Bardem, who will also star as notorious killer Max Cady.
Described as "a tense, Hitchcockian thriller and an examination of America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century", the synopsis continues: "A storm is coming for happily married attorneys Amanda and Steve Bowden when Max Cady (Bardem), a notorious killer from their past, gets out of prison."
The new series has been created by Nick Antosca (The Act) and is based on John D MacDonald’s novel The Executioners and Scorsese's 1991 remake.
Of course, the psychological thriller also hit the big screen originally in 1962 (as pictured above), where the role of Max was played by Robert Mitchum.
Robert De Niro took on the role in 1991, joined by Nick Nolte and Jessica Lange as the married couple in the tale.
While no further casting for this new Apple TV+ venture have been announced just yet, Bardem has recently been seen at the centre of Netflix's divisive hit series, Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.
The Ryan Murphy series saw Bardem take on the role of José Menendez.
Javier Bardem. Adela Loconte/Variety via Getty Images
This new Cape Fear series will see Bardem take on another dark and grisly role, this time as a convicted violent killer and rapist, as he tries to find loopholes in order to exact vengeance against a public defender that he blames for his incarceration.
As of now, it's not yet been revealed how closely the new series will stick to the original book or either film, but according to the teased synopsis, it's set to take a slight departure as both the husband and wife will be attorneys, rather than just the husband.
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
