'All Quiet on the Western Front' Director Edward Berger to Helm 'Helltown' for Amazon Starring Oscar Isaac

by Darian Scalamoni

    Once Oscars season rolls around, it's interesting to see what nominees and winners plan to do next after their esteemed work previously. Now, we officially have news on what's next for All Quiet on the Western Front director Edward Berger. Per Variety, it appears that Berger will next helm an 8-part television series based on the novel Helltown for Amazon Prime Video. The series will be led by Oscar Isaac (Inside Llewyn Davis, Ex Machina) and produced by Robert Downey Jr. and his wife, Susan Downey.

    According to the logline of the series, Helltown will have hour-long episodes and will follow the life of Kurt Vonnegut before he became known to the world as a renowned author writing books such as Slaughterhouse-Five, Cat's Cradle and Breakfast of Champions. In 1969, Vonnegut was a struggling novelist and car salesman who was living in Cape Cod with his wife and five children. When two women disappeared and were later discovered murdered, Vonnegut becomes obsessed and embroiled in this crime thriller as he goes on the hunt for a serial killer forming a relationship with the prime suspect behind the murders. The series is adapted from the book of the same name from Mohamad El Masri, who will write and act as showrunner. Masri previously worked on AppleTV+'s Severance, while Berger will direct the series and executive produce.

    The news comes hot off Berger's All Quiet on the Western Front for Netflix which won four Academy Awards and was nominated for nine. Berger also has previous experience with television having worked on Showtime's Your Honor and Patrick Melrose as well as AMC's The Terror. 

    Oscar Isaac is currently on Broadway co-starring with Rachel Brosnahan in The Sign in Sidney Brustein's Window. Isaac is no stranger to television as he's most recently joined the MCU in Disney+ series Moon Knight as well as HBO's Scenes from a Marriage which earned him SAG and Emmy honors. Isaac will next voice Miguel O'Hara aka Spider-Man 2099 in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. He's also been rumored to be playing iconic video game character Solid Snake in a film adaptation of Metal Gear Solid for Jordan Vogt-Roberts.