Lizzy Caplan Will Take On Glenn Close's Role In 'Fatal Attraction' TV Remake

The Paramount+ version is billed as a “deep-dive reimagining” of the original and, if Close has her way, could offer a more nuanced take on mental health.
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Hide your rabbits, folks: a new adaptation of “Fatal Attraction” is on the way.

Paramount+ on Thursday confirmed that actor Lizzy Caplan had signed on for a “deep-dive reimagining” of the 1987 psychological thriller, which starred Glenn Close and Michael Douglas. This time, the story will be presented as a series, with a screenplay written by Alexandra Cunningham.

Caplan, whose credits include “Mean Girls” and “Masters of Sex,” will play Alex Forrest, a woman who becomes obsessed with her married lover, Dan Gallagher, after a brief affair. The character was portrayed by Close in the original.

According to Paramount+ Chief Content Officer David Nevins, the new “Fatal Attraction” will be “very contemporary while also honoring the original.”

“There’s a very timeless appeal to the themes of fidelity and infidelity, why good people make very dumb, problematic choices, and just marriage and family against those themes of fidelity and infidelity,” he told Deadline in an interview. “How it’s done for today and how it’s turned into a series is interesting, and it’s interesting for Lizzy’s part in particular.”

A release date for the series was not announced.

Michael Douglas (left) and Glenn Close in 1987's "Fatal Attraction."
Michael Douglas (left) and Glenn Close in 1987's "Fatal Attraction."
Sunset Boulevard via Getty Images

Directed by Adrian Lyne, 1987’s “Fatal Attraction” received rave reviews and nabbed six Academy Award nominations, including Best Actress for Close. Though Alex remains one of her most iconic roles, Close was famously dissatisfied with the movie’s ending and, in particular, her character’s demise.

In recent interviews, the actor suggested that her character be reappraised in the wake of current discourse around mental health.

“I did take that script to two different psychiatrists, and neither of them back then even brought up the point that maybe she had mental health issues,” Close told CNN’s Anderson Cooper last week. “Nobody did. It is amazing, because now it’d be the first thing I think that people would talk about, and that’s really good.”

Though the new “Fatal Attraction” had not yet been announced at the time of the interview, Close went on to suggest that she’d be interested in seeing the story retold from Alex’s point of view.

“A lot of her behavior wasn’t explained,” she added.

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