It’s been almost 30 years since 10-year-old Scarlett Johansson played a little kid in the Sean Connery-starring crime thriller Just Cause (an adaptation of the John Katzenbach novel of the same name) and now she’s going to be replacing Connery in a new take on the original book. That comes from Deadline, which says this new adaptation will actually be a TV show from writer Christy Hall, with Amazon’s Prime Video giving it a straight-to-series order.
Johansson is going to star as Madison “Madi” Cowart, a reporter for a Florida newspaper who is asked to cover the final days of a murderer on death row who claims to be innocent. In the previous adaptation, the main character (Connery) was reconceived as a liberal law professor who was opposed to the death penalty, with Johansson—in only her second film role and her third acting role ever if you count an appearance on Late Night With Conan O’Brien—playing his daughter. The original Just Cause movie also starred Laurence Fishburne, Blair Underwood, Ed Harris, and Kate Capshaw.
Scarlett Johansson will reportedly headline and executive produce Amazon’s upcoming thriller series Just Cause, the limited TV adaptation of John Katzenbach’s 1992 novel of the same name. According to Deadline, in the TV adaptation, the book’s male protagonist, Miami newspaper editorial writer Matt Cowart, is undergoing a gender swap, with Johansson playing the series’ female lead Madison “Madi” Cowart, a struggling reporter for a Florida newspaper sent to cover the final days of an inmate on death row.
Interestingly, John Katzenbach’s 1992 novel was also adapted by Jeb Stuart and Peter Stone in 1995 for an Arne Glimcher directorial and the film, headlined by Sean Connery and Laurence Fishburne, also featured Johansson as a child actress. Johansson played Connery’s daughter in the film which was only the second film of her career after 1994’s North.
This will be the second time ‘Just Cause’ is being adapted for the big screen. In 1995, Sean Connery, Blair Underwood, Laurence Fishburne, Ed Harris, Ruby Dee, and Kate Capshaw starred in a cinematic adaptation of the book.
Johansson has also been nominated twice for the best-supporting actress at the Oscars in addition to best actress. Both awards were for her work in “Marriage Story” and “Jojo Rabbit,” respectively. Her, Ghost in the Shell, Lost in Translation, and Vicky Christina Barcelona are just a few of the movies she has appeared in.
Warner Bros. Television’s upcoming thriller series got a straight-to-series order at Prime Video from Amazon Studios. Just Cause also marks Johansson’s first major TV project. The screenplay comes from I Am Not Okay With This creator Christy Hall. Besides Johansson, Jonathan Lia and Keenan Flynn executive produce for These Pictures. Zara Duff, who is head of TV for the production company, is overseeing production.
