Actor Patrick Wilson, best known for playing Ed Warren in the Conjuring films, has onboarded the cast of Cape Fear, starring Amy Adams and Javier Bardem in lead roles.
Nick Antosca, best known for creating true crime dramas like A Friend of the Family and The Act is writing the series and will serve as its showrunner. Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg will executive producing the series along with Bardem.
According to the makers, the 10-episode series will be a tense, Hitchcockian thriller and an examination of America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century. It is likely to follow the plot of the original film which follows happily married attorneys Amanda and Steve Bowden who face growing trouble as Max Cady (played by Bardem), a notorious killer from their past, gets out of prison.
Nick Nolte played Sam Bowden while Jessica Lange starred as Leigh Bowden in the Scorsese film. Robert De Niro took on the role of the vicious killer Max Cady, a role that was iconic for its time. The 1991 film was a remake of the 1962 film by J Lee Thompson, which was based on the 1957 novel The Executioners by John D MacDonald.
Both Adams and Bardem will executive produce in addition to starring in Cape Fear. Antosca executive produces alongside Alex Hedlund under their Eat the Cat banner. Steven Spielberg and Scorsese will also executive produce the series.
Spielberg will executive produce via Amblin Television along with Daryl Frank and Justin Falvey. UCP, where Antosca and Eat the Cat are under an overall deal, will produce.
In addition to the Conjuring films, Patrick Wilson has also starred in the Insidious franchise and directed 2023's Insidious: The Red Door. His credits also include DC's Aquaman films, Watchmen, Little Children, and HBO's Angels in America.