Michael Douglas to play the role of Benjamin Franklin in Apple TV+ limited series

Hollywood stalwart  Michael Douglas will be stepping into the shoes of one of America’s founding fathers, Benjamin Franklin, in a new  Apple TV+ series. As per Deadline, the project is based on Pulitzer Prize winner Stacy Schiff's book, A Great Improvisation: Franklin, France, and the Birth of America, and will be helmed by Emmy-winning director Tim Van Patten. 

The show will be written by Kirk Ellis, famous for penning the John Adams miniseries for HBO in 2008 as well as History Channel’s Sons of Liberty. The yet-untitled series will reportedly narrate 'one of the greatest gambles of Franklin’s storied life'. 

Michael Douglas to play Benjamin Franklin in upcoming Apple TV+ limited series

Apart from acting in the upcoming limited series, Douglas will also be executively producing it. The series, whose casting has been going on for the past couple of months, has been jointly produced by ITV Studios America and Apple Studios. As per a press release, the series will "show how a 70-year-old Franklin, without any diplomatic training, convinced the absolute monarchy of France to underwrite America's little experiment in democracy".

The press release added, "By virtue of his fame, charisma, and ingenuity, Franklin outmanoeuvred British spies, French informers, and hostile colleagues, all while engineering the Franco-American alliance of 1778 and the final peace with England of l783. The eight-year French mission stands as Franklin’s most vital service to his country, without which America would not have won the Revolution."

Franklin is a trailblazing figure in American history, one of the founding fathers of the United States. He was among the group of revolutionary leaders who 'united the Thirteen Colonies, led the war for independence from Great Britain' as well as built a 'frame of government' of the US. 

Meanwhile, the role of Franklin has earlier been essayed by Orson Welles in the film Royal Affairs in Versailles as well as in La Fayette. 

Image: AP