Chris Evans to Star in Straight-to-Series Drama ‘Defending Jacob’ for Apple

weheartchrisevans:

Chris Evans has signed on to star in and executive produce the limited series “Defending Jacob,” which has been ordered straight-to-series at Apple, Variety has learned.

The series is based on the 2012 best-selling novel of the same name by William Landay. It tells the story of a father whose 14 year old son is accused of murder. The series was created, written, and executive produced by Mark Bomback, who will also serve as showrunner. It will be produced by Paramount Television and Anonymous Content, with Rosalie Swedlin and Adam Shulman executive producing for Anonymous Content. Academy Award-nominee Morten Tyldum will executive produce and direct the series.

This will mark Evans’ first regular television role since he appeared in the miniseries “Opposite Sex” back in 2000, which was his only regular TV role to date. The actor is best known for playing Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, most recently playing the patriotic hero in the global box office hit “Avengers: Infinity War.” Evans is also known for roles in films like “Snowpiercer” and the original “Fantastic Four” film along with its sequel “Rise of the Silver Surfer.” He recently starred on Broadway to critical acclaim in “Lobby Hero” and is about to begin production on the film “The Devil All the Time.”

Bomback wrote both “War for the Planet of the Apes” and “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.” He also wrote the screenplay for the upcoming film “Outlaw King” starring Chris Pine. He is also writing the upcoming “The Umbrella Academy” TV series at Netflix and an adaptation of “The Art of Racing in the Rain.”

Tyldum was nominated for an Oscar in 2015 for directing the critically-acclaimed film “The Imitation Game.” He also recently directed the pilot for the Amazon serise “Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan” as well as the pilot for the Starz series “Counterpart.”

Chris Evans to Star in Straight-to-Series Drama ‘Defending Jacob’ for Apple

I am an Elia fan so I might be biased but I rolled my eyes so far when claim Elia could not have a third child ever. Unless she had a hysterectomy, Elia was capable of childbirth. It was dangerous because of her health & two kids in two years. Wait a few years, but Rhaegar jumped the gun. You think someone who saw his mother in a constant state of pregnancy & recovering from it could do the math.

The thing is that we don’t really know what “inability to have another child” means exactly.
What we know is that Elia almost died birthing Aegon, it was that
traumatic and that the maesters told Rhaegar afterwards that she
couldn’t have more children. That could mean that Elia wouldn’t be able to get pregnant again (which is possible for reasons other than a hysterectomy. I have limited knowledge of history but I still know that Margaret Beaufort was rendered sterile after a traumatic pregnancy at the age of 12. So there are other reasons besides removal of uterus that could prevent a woman from having more children). It could mean that she could get pregnant but wouldn’t be able to carry to term. It could mean that she could get pregnant but it would prove fatal to her, the baby or both. We really don’t know.

Now, could the maesters be wrong? I mean, anything is

possible. The information is vague enough and it’s medival medicine so moderns readers might see opportunity to pick apart that diagnosis. But I also think it ultimately does not matter? The point is that everyone thought that Elia couldn’t have more children and that this was used to scapegoat her and blame her for Rhaegar’s own screw ups. The point is that Rhaegar thought she couldn’t have more children and that might have played a part in his absconding with Lyanna, though I have my reservations about that one. My theory leans more towards Rhaegar taking Elia’s condition as a confirmation to what he already thought of Lyanna having to be the mother of his third child rather than it being the motivation for him to pursue Lyanna.

Edited to add @nobodysuspectsthebutterfly‘s reply

there are plenty of reasons besides a hysterectomy? damage to the uterus,
scarring, damage to the vaginal canal – things we could solve today
with antibiotics or c-sections (note a c-section without modern
antibiotics or anesthesia is a *great* way to kill a woman from shock) –
the list is really long. hell, anemia or low levels of coagulants could
do it. and there’s rh
incompatibilities (killed so many women before blood typing was
invented), fibroids, tendencies towards pre-eclampsia – so many things
where early doctors knew something was wrong but had no idea how to fix,
where trying to fix without antibiotics or anesthetic or blood
transfusions would just kill the woman, and the best advice would be: if
you don’t want to die, please don’t get pregnant again. it’s very sad,
but so so common.                            

                 

What do you think about the idea that the unnamed Princess of Dorne shares some culpability for Elia’s death because she forced Elia to marry a man Elia did not love for the sake of her obsession with besting Tywin and gaining influence in court? (Imagine how different Elia’s life would have been if she had married Arthur Dayne, No humiliation at Harrenhal, no watching her children being murdered, no Elia herself being brutally raped and murdered.)

That’s quite a reach. This interpretation goes out of its way to place blame on the Princess of Dorne by deliberately misrepresenting the circumstances of Elia’s marriage and painting the Princess as a merely an obsessed power-hungry woman who sacrificed her daughter for the sake of power. Which I vehemently disagree with. She is not Tywin Lannister, anon.

First of all, for one to claim that the Princess of Dorne is culpable in Elia’s death assumes that she could have reasonably predicted Rhaegar’s actions, which she couldn’t have. There were no warning signs of what Rhaegar would do and no reason for anyone to think that the famously chivalric prince would screw up so badly or be so impolitic. Up until Rhaegar actually botched things at Harrenhal, he was a reputable man that many looked to as the hope for the future of House Targaryen. No one could have looked at him circa 279 and concluded that he’s behave so irrationally or so publicly, or that he’s fail his wife and children so profoundly. So if, to the best of the Princess of Dorne’s knowledge, Rhaegar was a trustworthy and honorable man, what are you blaming her for? Not being clairvoyant?
It’s not reasonable to blame the her for not expecting the
unexpected when she had absolutely no indication of it. She could not have known and I’m not about to blame her for failing to see the future.

Second, I take issue with how you made Elia’s betrothal and marriage to be primarily about settling a score with Tywin which I find extremely minimizing to the Princess of Dorne. This frames a huge political action – one that more or less defines her character in our eyes since it’s the only one we “saw” her take – as merely a reaction to a slight, one that you go on to imply that she put above the well-being of her daughter. It makes her actions to be mainly about Tywin rather than her own. While she definitely found satisfaction in “winning that tilt” as Tyrion puts it, that was just the icing on the cake imo. Our knowledge of the Princess of Dorne may be minimal but it’s quite clear that she was a deft political player in her own right with an eye towards the advancement of both her House and her principality, and an ear to the ground to catch changes in the political landscape which was turbulent in Aerys’ reign. She was adept at the type of personal politics that direct Westeros and extremely effective at utilizing her personal relationships as a prelude to marital and political alliances. That precedes Tywin’s insult. That she was looking for an alliance with a great house outside of Dorne also precedes Tywin’s insult as evidenced by the fact that the two suitors we heard of prior to Rhaegar were no less than the heir to the Hightower and the heir to Casterly Rock. Taking her personal connection to House Targaryen into account and the fact that it was known that Aerys was specifically looking for a Valyrian-blooded bride for Rhaegar that he sent Steffon Baratheon to Volantis to find one, it’s only natural that the Princess of Dorne took the chance to ally herself with the royal family, especially at a time where everyone was making great alliances. First and foremost, that was because the Princess was an active and smart political player in the game, not primarily because she wanted to inflame Tywin Lannister. That was just a welcome added bonus.

Lastly, describing the situation as the Princess of Dorne forcing Elia to marry a man she did not love is a misrepresentation since it completely ignores the context of the marriage, the nature of Westerosi society, and the sociopolitical considerations that directs marriage practices in it. Marriage is a tool of political alliance in feudal societies. Politics are what determine marriage because that’s how the power
structure is maintained. Which of course does commodify individuals, especially women,
as pawns
to be used to gain alliances, political power, status, economic
privileges, etc which in turn undermines consent. The sociopolitical environment of Westeros means that people rarely get to choose their spouses, they rarely get to marry for love, they rarely even get consulted. Most marriages are arranged between heads of Houses, sometimes when the betrothed individuals are still children. That removes true agency from people.

Still, I’d still say that there is a huge difference between the average arranged marriage that might not have had the prior and explicit free consent of the two parties but wasn’t rejected or opposed to our knowledge, and between scenarios like that of Jon Arryn and Lysa Tully, or Robert Baratheon and Lyanna Stark where the woman unambiguously rejected the match and was forced into it. I find it hard to paint them all with the same brush as forced unions. In the same vein, while we don’t know much about the circumstances of Rhaegar and Elia’s marriage, and they certainly did not choose each other or were in love, we’ve gotten no indication that either of them was opposed to the match or that the Princess of Dorne forced Elia into an unwanted situation against her will. That may be a result of how little we know about Elia and the actual marriage to Rhaegar beyond somewhat pleasant if limited reflection from Barristan Selmy. But in the absence of as much as a hint that Elia rejected the match, I hesitate to assume that this was the case.

And yes, the Princess of Dorne did want political power and influence in court but again, it’s a feudal society. This is how the game is played. This doesn’t make her a blindly ambitious person who sacrificed her daughter for some power and a grudge. All the information she had indicated that she was marrying her daughter to a good man – a renowned knight known for his chivalry and opposition to his father. To the best of the Princess of Dorne’s knowledge, Rhaegar Targaryen was a perfect groom for her daughter whether politically or personally. Not only was he the future king and the wielder of unparalleled political power, but he was seemingly a decent man who many viewed as the hope for the future of the Targaryen dynasty – a famously chivalric knight that was the complete opposite of his selfish and mad father, a handsome well-read man with a penchant for singing, well-beloved by the smallfolk and respected by the nobles. No one could have looked at Rhaegar circa 279 and seen anything but a vision of a groom.

Oh my god. Seriously, I was so scared of Cumberbatch and after those supporting losses, I thought it was going to be The Normal Heart’s scenario all over again. Thank God it wasn’t. Yay Darren and Ryan!!! So so happy for both.