Nearly two decades after winning Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his turn as a murderous henchman in No Country for Old Men, Javier Bardem is delivering another fearsome performance in a limited-series remake of Cape Fear.
Not only is the upcoming Apple TV+ release inspired by 1991 thriller—itself a remake of the suspense-ridden 1962 classic—but Apple brought aboard the two titanic filmmaking forces behind the first remake. While Cape Fear (1991) was originally developed by Steven Spielberg, the Jurassic Park director’s concerns about the dark, violent nature of the material led him to pass the script to Martin Scorsese in exchange for Schindler’s List, for which the Goodfellas director was struggling to find funding. Both Scorsese and Spielberg executive produced Apple TV+’s Cape Fear.
Meanwhile, Bardem, who also executive produced the series, is stepping into an iconic role previously filled by Robert De Niro, who won a Best Actor nomination for his portrayal of vengeful former convict Max Cady. Amy Adams and Patrick Wilson play the power-couple lawyers he’s hunting—see the official synopsis from Apple TV+ below:
“A storm is coming for happily married attorneys Anna (Adams) and Tom Bowden (Wilson) when Max Cady (Bardem), the notorious killer they are responsible for putting behind bars, is let out of prison — and he wants vengeance.
Like the 1991 movie, the trailer is brimming with heavily stylized cinematography. It plays like a kaleidoscopic nightmare, featuring closeups of Bardem’s maniacal, cackling face, a percussive score that sounds like a creepy Nine Inch Nails instrumental, and paranoid dialogue from Wilson and Adams.
Adapted for TV by Nick Antosca (Antlers, Channel Zero), who produces alongside Alex Hedlund, as well as Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Spielberg’s Amblin Television, the first two of Apple TV+’s 10-episode Cape Fear series premieres on June 5. Watch the first trailer below.
