Nick Cave and Warren Ellis are set to score the new television adaptation of The Death Of Bunny Munro.
The series was officially announced by Sky today (August 5), and will come as a new adaptation of Cave’s second novel, which was published in 2009 and followed on from his 1989 debut, And The Ass Saw The Angel.
The upcoming six-part series will see Matt Smith (House Of The Dragon, The Crown) in the titular role. The plot centres around a sex-addicted door-to-door salesman who, after his wife’s death, takes his young son on a chaotic sales tour around Brighton and beyond. The journey forces him to confront what kind of man and father he really is.
It is written by BAFTA winner Pete Jackson (Somewhere Boy), directed by Isabella Eklöf (Industry, Holiday), and produced by Clerkenwell Films in association with Sky Studios. Now, it has been confirmed that the novelist and musician behind the story will be joining forces with Ellis once again for the score.
It follows them working on previous projects, including The Proposition (2005), The Road (2009), Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022), and the Amy Winehouse biopic Back to Black (2024).
All new music for the series was recorded at Soundtree Music in Shoreditch, east London, and engineered by Luis Almau – a frequent collaborator of Cave and Ellis. The sound of the new material leans into a raw, unruly energy, according to Sky, and captures the signature emotion and intensity that the two have demonstrated in their previous work.
There will also be a special preview event for The Death Of Bunny Munro taking place at the Southbank Centre’s London Literature Festival. It will be held at the Royal Festival Hall on October 30, and feature a screening of the first two episodes, followed by an exclusive on-stage conversation with Cave and lead actor Smith.
Recommended
Tickets for that go on sale on Thursday (August 7) at 10am BST. Visit here for more information.
In 2023, Cave revealed to NME as part of a “good faith conversation” that two of his books were set to become TV series or movies.
Before then, the adaptation was mooted in 2010, with the Bad Seeds frontman stating he originally wrote the story as a screenplay, but had it published as a novel after it failed to move forward.
Progress continued into February 2024, when Smith shared details about the series, saying: “I’ve only met Nick Cave once, but I think he said [about the adaptation], ‘Finally, someone who has had the balls to tell this unholy tale’.”
News that Cave was joining up with Ellis to work on the score was first shared in September last year, when NME asked the latter if he was involved in the project. “Yes, we are. I don’t know if I’m meant to say that,” Ellis said. “Nick’s been involved in overseeing it in some capacity, just looking on. We are doing the music for it. That might be the chance for a bit of the old Grinderman, maybe!”
Back in December, a first-look image of Matt Smith in the series was released, and showed him alongside young co-star Rafael Matheì, who plays Bunny Junior.
An official release date for The Death Of Bunny Munro has not yet been confirmed.
The news of the series comes shortly after the ‘Red Right Hand’ singer got fans flocking to a charity store in Hove after donating 2,000 books.
Before then, he spoke to NME in 2023, and opened up about whether he is trying to pour a feeling of love into his music. “I don’t know about the music, but these days I feel a more urgent need to connect with people,” he said.
“That there’s a kind of duty in that, that maybe I didn’t feel before. That I have at my disposal something that’s very valuable: to make music, and I don’t want to squander that opportunity in phoning in gigs or doing half-hearted attempts. Every one is as important as each other.” Check out that full interview here.
As for Ellis, the musician – who has been a core member of The Bad Seeds since 1997, as well as Cave’s main musical collaborator for the last two decades – spoke to NME about the chances of Grinderman returning for a tour or new music.
“I’d never say never! But we better bloody get on with it,” he said. “The average age of us is about 100 now. Look, it constantly runs around and comes up in conversation every once in a while. There seems to be much more love for Grinderman now than when we were around!
“I wouldn’t be against it; it was so enjoyable. We’ve got to get this record out of the way, then maybe when we’re 80? Maybe we could double up with Oasis, and maybe they could support us? Maybe Oasis can support Grinderman if we reform when we’re 80!”
Comments are closed, but trackbacks and pingbacks are open.