Martin Scorsese Classic Getting Remade By Steven Spielberg
A historic moment for Spielberg and Scorsese as it’s the first time the duo has worked together on a television project.
Joining ranks with other titles, including Scream and Fargo, Martin Scorsese’s 1991 film Cape Fear will receive a series makeover. According to Bloody Disgusting, the series will be backed by Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment, with Nick Antosca joining to shape the vision. While no release date has been set, it’s a historic moment for Spielberg and Scorsese as it’s the first time the duo has worked together on a television project.
Cape Fear is being pitched as a series that will investigate America’s long-running fascination and morbid curiosity with true crime. Like Scorsese’s film, which was itself a remake of the 1962 film of the same name and an adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s 1957 novel, The Executioners, the production will follow suit by centering its story around an attorney. In this version, two attorneys who are married will find themselves in harm’s way after a killer they helped put behind bars is released from prison.
Antosca has long been a name in the horror and true crime community as he was the creator, showrunner, and writer for the anthology horror series Channel Zero. In more recent years, Antosca has been attached to productions, including Peacock’s dramatized true crime story A Friend of the Family, SyFy and USA Network’s Chucky, and Netflix’s Brand New Cherry Flavor. A self-proclaimed life-long fan of the Cape Fear films, there could be no better person to take on the vision for the series than Antosca.
As for Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg’s roles in the television adaptation of Cape Fear, the legendary filmmakers will serve as executive producers on the series. The series hasn’t yet found a home platform, but it’s expected to go to a streamer. Of course, the fight to lay claim to Scorsese, Spielberg, and Antosca’s latest project will be a brutal and pricey one as the names tied to it are setting it up to collect high viewership numbers.
The original Cape Fear starred such classic Hollywood names as Gregory Peck (To Kill a Mockingbird) and Robert Mitchum (The Story of G.I. Joe), with Martin Scorsese’s remake living up to the same celebrity hype. For his telling, Scorsese paired with frequent collaborator Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Jessica Lange (American Horror Story), Juliette Lewis (Natural Born Killers), and Nick Nolte (A Walk in the Woods) with original stars Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, and Martin Balsam all gracing the production in a cameo capacity.
Along with crafting the series revamp of Cape Fear, Nick Antosca will also executive produce under his banner, Eat the Cat, which he runs with Alex Hedlund. Together, the duo have worked on a handful of the aforementioned titles, including Chucky, Candy, and A Friend of the Family. In addition to Cape Fear, the pair is currently working on a dramatized and scripted series for Hulu that will center around the Murdaugh family killings.
Even though the horror season is over and we’re heading into the holidays, the news that Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg are teaming up with Nick Antosca to create a Cape Fear television production should bring cheer to fans of the genre everywhere. Stay tuned for more information as every streamer under the sun dukes it out for rights to Cape Fear.
