Helltown: Oscar Isaac to play Kurt Vonnegut in Amazon serial killer thriller series

Oscar Isaac (Moon Knight) is in talks to star in and executive produce the crime thriller series Helltown for Amazon Studios – and if the deal goes through, Isaac will be taking on the role of author Kurt Vonnegut, the writer of such novels as Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat’s Cradle, and Breakfast of Champions. Mohamad El Masri (Severance) is writer, executive producer, and showrunner on Helltown, which is based on a novel by Casey Sherman (pick up a copy HERE).

Deadline reports that Ed Berger, director, co-writer, and producer of the Best International Film Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front remake, is on board to direct and executive produce the series.

Helltown is set to consist of eight episodes and will tell the story of Kurt Vonnegut before he was a renowned author and cultural lightning rod. In 1969 Kurt was a struggling novelist and car salesman living life with his wife and five children on Cape Cod. When two women disappear and are later discovered murdered underneath the sand dunes on the outskirts of Provincetown, Kurt becomes obsessed and embroiled in the chilling hunt for a serial killer and forms a dangerous bond with the prime suspect.

Coming to us from Team Downey and Amazon Studios, the series is also being executive produced by Robert Downey Jr., Susan Downey, and Amanda Burrell of Team Downey, along with Sherman. Isaac will be executive producing with Gena Konstantinakos through his Mad Gene banner.

Deadlines notes that Sherman is “a bestselling author of 17 books, including The Finest Hours, which was adapted for a 2016 film, starring Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, by Disney; and Patriots Day, adapted for a 2016 film, starring Mark Wahlberg, by CBS Films.”

How does Helltown sound to you? Are you a fan of Kurt Vonnegut and/or Casey Sherman? Let us know by leaving a comment below. Just the fact that this show is going to be about Oscar Isaac (assuming his deal will go through) tracking a serial killer is enough to get me interested. We’ll keep our readers updated on Helltown as more information is made available.