Chris Evans has signed on to star in the Apple drama series Defending Jacob.
Evans will executive produce and star in the limited series as Assistant District Attorney Andy Barber. The show is an adaptation of the 2012 best-selling novel Defending Jacob, which centers around Barber and his family in Newton, Massachusetts. While working on a case involving the murder of a young man, Barber finds himself having to defend his teenage son, Jacob, after evidence is found linking him to the crime.
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Screenwriter Mark Bomback (War for the Planet of the Apes) is also serving as an executive producer and head writer on the project. Academy Award-nominated director Morten Tyldum (The Imitation Game) will also executive produce and direct the series.
For Evans, this will be his first television role in almost 20 years. The actor, who has become a household name playing Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, has expressed a desire to move into more dramatic fare. Evans starred in the dramedy Gifted, about a man battling for custody over his child prodigy daughter, in 2017. He also went on to garner acclaim for his performance in the Broadway play Lobby Hero. Evans can be seen in the sequel to Avengers: Infinity War, the still-untitled Avengers 4, next year.
Defending Jacob is expected to film sometime in 2019.
(via Variety)