Black Adam star Aldis Hodge has been cast in the lead role for Amazon's Cross. Written by James Patterson, Alex Cross is a series of crime mystery novels centered around the titular Washington D.C. detective and forensic psychologist in the Metropolitan Police Department. Each book sees Alex solving tough-to-crack cases in D.C. while also maintaining a family life with his two children and grandmother. Patterson's series boasts 30 novels as well as a spinoff series, Ali Cross, following Alex's son.
The book series has been adapted into films before, including 2001's Along Came a Spider starring Morgan Freeman, and the more recent 2012 Alex Cross, where Tyler Perry played the titular character. Despite the number of adaptations over the decades, Alex Cross films have typically seen mixed to negative reviews from critics, including the financially successful Along Came a Spider. In a possible breakaway from this trend, Prime Video announced in 2020 that it would be adapting Patterson's novel series into a TV series.
As reported by Variety, Prime Video's Cross show has found its titular detective in the form of Black Adam star Aldis Hodge. The seasoned actor is no stranger to major television roles, having played hacker Alec Hardison in TNT's Leverage and - more recently - Assistant District Attorney DeCourcy Ward in Showtime's City on a Hill. The description for the series teases Hodge will be playing a deeply flawed character with plenty of intrigue to his name:
A doting father and family man, Cross is single-minded to the point of obsession when he hunts killers. He is desperate for love, but his wife’s murder has left him too damaged to receive it.
Everything We Know About The Alex Cross Series
Since Cross was announced by Amazon in 2020, major details on the show's plot haven't surfaced. However, Prime Video describes the series as a thriller, hinting at blood-pumping stories similar to those James Patterson writes in his books. Having played Hawkman so recently in Black Adam, it appears Hodge will be well-equipped to portray Alex Cross, giving audiences the crime thriller action the series is promising. Hodge is also slated to be a producer on the series, giving him some personal input into how his version of Cross is presented.
Cross will be joining the list of crime thrillers Amazon has been adapting from the page to the screen. Season 3 of Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan will see John Krasinski return as the Marine veteran in December this year, while season 2 of Reacher, adapted from Lee Child's Jack Reacher book series, is currently in production. The positive reception to both Jack Ryan and Reacher are a good omen for Cross' quality. Hodge's starring role in Cross is sure to engage audiences that are familiar with his work, while also defining Amazon's Prime Video as a go-to place for action-packed crime series.
Source: Variety