Cross' lead stars Aldis Hodge, Isaiah Mustafa, and creator Ben Watkins tease the season 1 villain and their relationship with the titular character. The upcoming thriller series is based on James Patterson novels centered on the iconic detective and will debut on Prime Video on November 14.Hodge headlinesCrossas the titular detective and forensic psychologist alongside Mustafa as his partner and friend John Sampson, Juanita Jennings, Alona Tal, Samantha Walkes, Caleb Elijah, Melody Hurd, Jennifer Wigmore, Eloise Mumford, and Ryan Eggold, who plays the villain, Ed Ramsey.
During a recent interview withScreen RantforCross' premiere, Hodge, Mustafa and Watkins were asked about the parallels between the titular detective and villain. Hodge noted that Cross looks at the evidence as “an indicative sort of signature of the killer and their motivations,” which makes “his mindset his superpower,” sothe series' antagonist needs to be someone “formidable that can stand against Cross,“and even, to a degree, “beat Cross.” Mustafa draws the comparison of their relationship to Batman and Joker. Check out what the two said below:
Aldis Hodge:So his investigation style, being a forensic psychologist, is first understanding the mind of the killer, which I think he does state. Most people look at the evidence, and they start building off of there. But I think that Cross looks at the evidence as an indicative sort of signature of the killer and their motivations. He thinks about it from a very different perspective, which is what makes it special. That’s what makes his mindset his superpower, is that he gets to live dangerously close to understanding the killer from a humane perspective.
Because if you can’t understand the human inside, then you can’t understand what drives them. So, for every season, really, what Ben Watkins, our creator, does brilliantly is that he knows he needs to create someone who is so formidable that can stand against Cross. That can, to a degree, almost beat Cross. That may be a possibility we don’t know, but therein lies a challenge for Cross to step his game up and keep pushing.
Isaiah Mustafa:Yeah. They got to find the right Joker to his Batman.
Watkins further explains that the season 1 villain,Fanboy, shares two similarities with Cross,with one being “the level of their intellect and drive” and the other being both “charismatic and seductive and also had a physicality,” but unlike Cross, who uses his insight into people’s nature to solve crime, Fanboy uses it to “lure people into his traps.” The show creator stresses that the idea with Fanboy is to remind people of “how a killer could seduce you.” Check out what he said:
Ben Watkins:Yeah, I think there’s two similarities I wanted. One is sort of the level of their intellect and drive. I tie those together, because you can see different varieties of intellect, but they both have drive and intellect, and they’re able to use that, and they’re able to use people’s own human nature against them. So, Cross is using that to break people down in an interrogation, or anticipate what their next move might be. And Fanboy is using that to lure people into his traps. So, the other piece that was really important to me, and that’s why I’m so glad we got Ryan Eggold to play the role, I wanted to sort of depart away from what I feel like people have been doing with serial killers recently, which is making them all sort of fit the Hannibal Lecter mold.
I wanted somebody that was charismatic and seductive and also had a physicality, so we wanted to look for someone who could pull that off. And Ryan Eggold had that, and he had one thing else, he was coming off of a show where people liked him, loved him on New Amsterdam. So I was like, “If any fans from New Amsterdam come in there, there’s going to be a sense of liking him.” Even subconsciously, even if you know he’s the bad guy, there’s still a residual effect of you saw him before, and you liked him, and I needed that, because I want people every now and then across the course of the whole season to be reminded of how a killer could seduce you.
Hodge further teasesFanboy as being Cross’s toughest case to datebecause he is able to “challenge Cross so much to a point where Cross even has to question himself.” Fanboy is “so well seated in the world he’s in,” which makes him very hard to catch. The two have a “strange cat-and-mouse relationship,” where there’s “an understanding” between the two top players, but Fanboy would also challenge Cross to up his game. To further explain their almost fated dynamics, Mustafa again draws the comparison of what draws Batman to the Joker instead of robbers. Check out what they said:
Aldis Hodge:I would say generally, I think [Fanboy is Cross' toughest case to date]. That’s the thing I love about it so much because he does challenge Cross so much to a point where Cross even has to question himself. There’s a point where he questions Cross. There’s a point where he has to really sit and really think, “How am I doing things? How are things moving? Am I really at the top of my game here?” And that’s the thing I love about this sort of strange cat-and-mouse relationship going on, because this killer is so well seated in the world he’s in.
He’s so well-protected that Cross has to really work to find a chink in the armor, and it’s not as easy as he thought it was going to be. So, all the way down to where we meet them in the end, it’s, first of all, an unexpected relationship that happens between the two. But there’s an understanding between them that, whether he likes it or not, “Oh, I see you. I’m at you. I respect, okay, now the game is on.” Now he has to go from Cross to Super Cross just to tackle this.
Isaiah Mustafa:Yeah. Batman isn’t going after robbers, he’s going after The Joker.
What This Means For Cross Season 1
As Much About Alex Cross As It’s About Fanboy
While theCrossseason 1 trailersees that the D.C. homicide detective and his partner John Sampson will track down a sadistic killer, what Hodge and Mustafa’s comments further tease is thatseason 1 will center around the intricate dynamics and push-and-pull between Cross and Fanboy.
How Cross’ Depiction Of James Patterson Hero Is Different From Prior Adaptations Detailed By Star
Exclusive: At NYCC, Cross star Aldis Hodge details how his version of James Patterson’s detective differs from Morgan Freeman’s and Tyler Perry’s.
It seems that the show is starting off with very high stakes by introducing Alex Cross’s toughest case to date. Not only that, the show will also focus around Cross and Fanboy’s special connection through their shared skills and how that helps and poses a challenge for Cross. The understanding they share also suggests thatthis case is likely very personal to Cross, a point made all the more possible as he is still mourning the murder of his wife from a year prior to the show’s start.
Our Take On Alex Cross & Fanboy
Like The Joker To Batman
Batman and Joker share a very interesting connection, butthe show’s approach to Cross and Fanboy is likely similar to howHannibalapproachesWill Graham and Hannibal Lecter’s relationshipby diving deep into what makes them special. Fanboy is unexpected because he’s different from all the other killers out there, and even though the case is going to be a challenge and makes Cross doubt himself, their dynamics, as teased byCross' creator and stars, almost feel that they are chess players who can meet each other at the same level. The understanding between the two would make the chase much more dangerous and thrilling.
Cross
Cast
Cross follows the life of Alex Cross, a skilled yet troubled homicide detective balancing his role as a devoted father and relentless crime investigator. Haunted by his wife’s murder, he navigates personal turmoil while persistently pursuing justice in the face of dangerous adversaries.
