Apple will not proceed with the Richard Gere-led drama series “Bastards,” Variety has confirmed.
The project was ordered straight-to-series last year and was based on the Israeli series “Nevelot.” Gere was set to star in one of the two lead roles, with Howard Gordon and Warren Leight set to write and serve as showrunners.
Gere would have starred as one of two elderly Vietnam vets and best friends who find their monotonous lives upended when a woman they both loved fifty years ago is killed by a car. According to sources, creative differences between Apple, Gordon, and Leight led to the nascent streamer releasing the project and paying out a large financial penalty to the producers.
Apple had previously scrapped the scripted project “Vital Signs” from Dr. Dre, but that was prior to the arrival of current worldwide video heads Jamie Erlicht and Zack Van Amburg. There is still no official launch date for the Apple streaming service, which has been dubbed Apple TV Plus, though it is thought to be launching sometime this fall.
The tech giant has begun releasing teasers and trailers for what is expected to be its initial programming slate, including “The Morning Show” starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon and “Dickinson” starring Hailee Steinfeld.
