Amy Adams’ New Remake Of Robert De Niro’s Classic 35-Year-Old Crime Thriller Is A “Nightmare Remix,” Says Showrunner

Apple TV’s series rendition of Cape Fear has been described by Antosca, who serves as showrunner, as a “nightmare remix” of the Robert De Niro movie of the same name. Serving as the third adaptation of John D. MacDonald’s 1957 novel The Executioners, the Cape Fear TV show follows public defenders Anna and Tom Bowden, who are targeted by former client Max Cady.

Speaking with Empire, Antosca revealed how the Cape Fear TV show will be both similar and different to the previous adaptation. He explained how the presentation will play on viewer paranoia as Adams’ Anna and Patrick Wilson’s Tom are forced to grapple with the torturous schemes of Javier Bardem’s Max. Check out what Antosca had to say below:

It’s like you’ve seen the [other versions], then went to sleep and had a nightmare about it. And you’re bringing your own stuff to it, and what’s in the atmosphere culturally. It’s like a nightmare remix.

It’s a very paranoid show. We should either feel like we’re watching, voyeuristically — or feel paranoid that we’re being watched.

Despite being a new rendition on Cape Fear, Martin Scorsese, who directed the De Niro version of the story, serves as an executive producer on the show. This allowed Antosca to show him scripts and pick his brain for ideas. The showrunner credits notes from the filmmaker as a core part of the series’ development:

I would email him and say, ‘Can you help us with this scene?’ We would get on with him and he would say, like, ‘Well, maybe roll this cut a few frames.’ And his notes, unsurprisingly, are amazing.

Unlike previous adaptations, where Max pursues revenge against a single public defender bearing the last name Bowden, the TV version will see him targeting both Adams and Wilson’s characters. Anna Bowden served as his former lawyer, while Tom Bowden was his prosecutor. It adds a new layer of tension to the story that will play out across all 10 episodes.

The latest adaptation of Cape Fear was one of Scorsese’s movies. Released in 1991, it stars De Niro as Max and Nick Nolte as public defender Samuel G. Bowden. However, it’s also a remake of the 1962 version of the same name, which sees Robert Mitchum as Max and Gregory Peck as Sam Bowden.

As for the new version, the TV show seems poised to expand on the ideas of the original, featuring not only tension around Max getting released from prison, but between Anna and Tom, who were on opposite sides of his case. The couple likely have plenty of secrets emphasizing why Max is so adamant about pursuing them after his release.

With Antosca hinting at a very paranoia-heavy version of the story, it seems like the Cape Fear TV show will be another standout adaptation. There’s enough differentiating it from the previous two already that signals it’ll be a vital story to tell, one that emphasizes how its differences help strengthen the intensity yet to come.

Cape Fear premieres Friday, June 5 on Apple TV.