Hard to believe, but Scarlett Johannson is only now making her first major move into television. Deadline reports Johansson will star and exec-produce Just Cause, a miniseries adaptation of the 1992 novel by John Katzenbach. And it’s a production the actress is very close to.
Johansson will star as Madison “Madi” Cowart, a struggling Florida journalist sent to cover a Death Row inmate’s final days, only to discover there’s much more to the story. Her character is actually a gender-swapped version of the male protagonist, Matt Cowart. The screenplay will be written by Christy Hall, known for her work on I’m Not Okay with This.
As for the actress’ connection to the material, she actually starred in a 1995 adaptation of Just Cause opposite Sean Connery, playing his young daughter. It was only her second feature film role. And now Johansson is using her star power to get a new version of this story out there.
Amazon Studios has already ordered Just Cause to series, so they obviously see a ton of potential for it as a prestige TV package. Expect to hear more on it soon.