Jake Gyllenhaal in Talks for New J.J. Abrams TV Show
David E. Kelley and J.J. Abrams are teaming up for a Presumed Innocent limited series coming to Apple TV+. The show will be based on Scott Turow's 1987 novel of the same name and follows a murder that brings big trouble to the Chicago Prosecuting Attorneys' office when one of its own is suspected of a crime. The project explores "obsession, sex, politics, and the power and limits of love, as the accused fights to hold his family and marriage together." In 1990, a film adaptation was made starring Harrison Ford as Rusty Sabich. According to Variety, Jake Gyllenhaal is in talks to take on the role in the series.
Rusty is the "fervent prosecutor accused of killing his close colleague after evidence begins to point in his direction." According to the report, Gyllenhaal is still in negotiations to take on the role. The series was ordered to series in February, but hopefully, there won't be any snags as Kelley recently had another straight-to-series show get canceled by ABC before it even premiered. As for Presumed Innocent, Kelley is adapting the novel for the small screen and is set to serve as the showrunner. He will also executive producer via David E. Kelley Productions alongside Matthew Tinker.
As for Abrams, the director will be executive producing with Rachel Rusch Rich for Abrams' Bad Robot Productions. Thomason, Sharr White, and Gyllenhaal will also serve as executive producers while Turow and Miki Johnson serve as co-executive producers. Warner Bros. Television, where Bad Robot is under an overall deal, is the studio on the project.
Is Warner Bros. Frustrated With J.J. Abrams?
Back in 2019, Abrams officially moved the entirety of his Bad Robot production studio to WarnerMedia. According to a report from The Hollywood Reporter back in May, Abrams's Demimonde was "on the bubble" as Warner Bros. Discovery was reportedly feeling frustrated with the producer's "lack of output" from Bad Robot's $250 million overall deal. Abrams had other projects in the works with the company, including an adult animated Batman series that would reunite Abrams with Matt Reeves, but it was reported that the show was scrapped in August. Other originals from Abrams include HBO Max's Subject to Change as well as a U2 scripted series that the studio is producing for Netflix. Apple's Presumed Innocent and HBO Max's Duster are just some of the other projects that Bad Robot has in the pipeline.
Are you hoping to see Jake Gyllenhaal take on the Presumed Innocent role that was once played by Harrison Ford? Tell us in the comments!