A&E’s upcoming Psycho prequel series from Carlton Cuse (Lost) and Kerry Ehrin (Friday Night Lights) has just found its Norman Bates. Twenty-year-old Englishman Freddy Highmore, who you should remember from films such as Finding Neverland, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, August Rush, and The Spiderwick Chronicles, has been cast as the famous series killer invented by Alfred Hitchcock. Cuse celebrated the news in a tweet: “I am so delighted that Freddie Highmore will play our young Norman Bates. He is a wonderfully gifted actor and a great guy.”
In other casting news, actor Max Thieriot (Jumper) has landed the role of Norman’s brother Dylan. In another tweet Cuse shared, “Max Thieriot joins BATES MOTEL playing Norma’s OTHER son, Dylan. Max is a phenomenal, smart & magnetic actor. An amazing casting day.”
Bates Motel is described as “a contemporary exploration of the formative years of Norman Bates’ relationship with his mother, Norma [played by Vera Farmiga], and the world they inhabit. Viewers will have access to the dark, twisted backstory and learn firsthand how Norma helped forge the most famous serial killer of them all.”
It’s expected to premiere on A&E in October 2013.