Antonio Campos to Direct “The Staircase” Remake as Drama Series Starring Colin Firth

Antonio Campos is onto his next (stair)case

The 37-year-old half-Brazilian American director is set to helm the remake of The Staircase, one of the first true-crime documentaries to break out into mainstream culture when it was released in 2004.

Campos’ remake will be a drama limited series for HBO Max with Colin Firth playing Michael Peterson, the man convicted of murdering his wife, Kathleen Peterson.

There previously were rumors that Harrison Ford had been attached to the project.

The Staircase is written and executive-produced by Campos and Cohn, and Campos will direct six of the eight episodes of the show, which is produced by Annapurna Television and HBO Max.

The Staircase started out as a documentary from director Jean-Xavier de Lestrade. It told the story of Michael Peterson, a crime novelist accused of killing his wife Kathleen after she is found dead at the bottom of a staircase in their home, and the 16-year judicial battle that followed. De Lestrade was granted unusual access to the case immediately following Kathleen’s death in 2001 in Durham, NC. Her husband, Michael, a local public figure and successful novelist, quickly became the prime suspect and was convicted.

The original series aired on France’s Canal+ and BBC 4 in the UK as well as on Sundance Channel in the United States.

Lestrade returned to the case a few years later for a three-part follow-up to the case, which aired on Netflix.

“This has been a project I have been working on in one way or another since 2008,” says Campos. “It’s been a long and winding road, but well worth the wait to be able to find partners like HBO Max, Annapurna, co-showrunner Maggie Cohn and the incredible Colin Firth to dramatize such a complex true-life story.”

Campos previously directed the Rebecca Hall-fronted feature Christine.

Antonio Campos Signs with William Morris Endeavor (WME)

Antonio Campos has new representation…

The 34-year-old half-Brazilian writer-director-producer, whose credits include the Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard film Afterschool and the Sundance Film Festival films Simon Killer and Christine, has signed with William Morris Endeavor (WME).

Antonio Campos

Campos has been busy on the television side of late, directing and executive producing USA’s The Sinner starring Jessica Biel in addition to Netflix’s The Punisher, on which he directed an episode in Season 1 and is helming the first two episodes of Season 2.

As a producer, his credits include Martha Macy May Marlene, James White, The Eyes of My Mother and Piercing.

Upcoming, Campos has signed on to rewrite and direct the upcoming Fox Searchlight horror film Splitfoot, and is aboard to direct a prequel to The Omen for 20th Century Fox.

Campos, who had been at UTA, continues to be repped by manager Melissa Breaux at Management 360 and attorneys Peter Nelson and Joel Vanderkloot.

Campos In Talks to Direct “The Omen” Prequel

It may turn out to be a scary First for Antonio Campos

The half-Brazilian American filmmaker is in talks to direct the supernatural horror thriller The First Omen for 20th Century Fox.

Antonio Campos

It’s a prequel to The Omen, which is being planned for release some forty years after the original was first released.

Campos most recently directed the Sundance Film Festival movie Christine.

The original movie starred the great Gregory Peck as an ambassador who comes to believe that his 5-year-old son may be the living embodiment of the Antichrist.

The movie, directed by Richard Donner, was one of the biggest hits of the year and considered one of the scariest movies of the decade. It introduced Damien, the name of the son, into the pop culture lexicon, and preyed on fears of baby swapping and evil nannies.

Omen spawned two sequels and a series of novels. Fox remade the movie once before, in a 2006 iteration directed by John Moore and starring Liev Schreiber and Julia Stiles.

Fox is currently airing a TV version of The Omen titled Damien, helmed by The Walking Dead‘s Glen Mazzara.

Ben Jacoby wrote the script for the prequel.

Campos is a player in the indie sphere and was a producer on movies such as Martha Marcy May Marlene. He previously directed 2012’s Simon Killer. His drama Christine starred Rebecca Hall and Michael C. Hall and premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, where distribution outfit The Orchard snapped up domestic rights.