Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are executive producing a new television series that will serve as a re-imagining of Cape Fear.
Per Deadline, multiple buyers are currently in the early stages of bidding on a new Cape Fear television series from executive producers Scorsese and Spielberg. The series also comes from Nick Antosca, who serves as an executive producer, showrunner, and creator.
“A storm is coming for a pair of married attorneys when an infamous killer from their past gets released after years in prison,” the official logline reads, per Variety. “A tense, contemporary thriller that examines America’s obsession with true crime in the 21st century.”
Darryl Frank, Alex Hedlund, and Justin Falvey also serve as executive producers on the series.
Scorsese and Spielberg have both worked on Cape Fear before
Based on John D. MacDonald’s The Executioners, a novel published in 1957, the original version of Cape Fear was released in 1962. Directed by J. Lee Thompson with a script by James R. Webb, the movie starred Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, and Martin Balsam.
Scorsese remade Cape Fear in 1991. Along with cameos from Peck, Mitchum, and Balsam, the movie starred Robert De Niro, Nick Nolte, Jessica Lange, and Juliette Lewis. Scorsese’s film received two Oscar nominations for Best Actor (De Niro) and Best Supporting Actress (Lewis).
“When attorney Sam Bowden (Nolte) knowingly withholds evidence that would acquit violent sex offender Max Cady (De Niro) of rape charges, Max spends 14 years in prison,” the synopsis of Scorsese’s film reads. “But after Max’s release, knowing about Sam’s deceit, he devotes his life to stalking and destroying the Bowden family. When practical attempts to stop Max fail, Sam realizes that he must act outside the law to protect his wife and daughter in Martin Scorsese’s remake of the classic 1962 thriller.”
The Cape Fear remake was originally developed by Spielberg, while Scorsese was working on Schindler’s List at the time. The two filmmakers ultimately swapped projects, with Spielberg remaining a producer of Cape Fear through Amblin Entertainment.
