Nicolas Cage’s Tiger King Project Just Got Some Bad News

Nicolas Cage has some bad news for his Tiger King project.

This article is more than 2 years old

Nicolas Cage has had a rollercoaster of a career. From swapping faces to hunting for his pig companion, the actor has had plenty of interesting roles. One thing we won’t see him as is Joe Exotic from the popular Netflix docuseries Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness, as reported by Variety.

Initially, Nicolas Cage was set to star in the Amazon series based on the TV personality turned felon. He had been in talks to star since April 2020. However, since then, he told Variety that he won’t be playing the role as it is “no longer relevant” to Amazon. With that, it sounds like Amazon may put the series to the side as progress was moving too slowly to keep up with public interest.

The show might not be dead, even without Nicolas Cage as the leading role and collaborating with the streaming and retail service. Produced by CBS Studios, the eight-episode pitched series is likely looking to another source to take the series as its new home.

Whatever CBS Studios does with the project, there is still a Tiger King series being made for the streaming service Peacock. While it does not have Nicolas Cage attached, casting has already been solidified. Kate McKinnon (Bombshell) will play as Carole Baskin, Kyle MacLachlan (Twin Peaks) as Howard Baskin, John Cameron Mitchell (Girls) as Joe Exotic, William Fichtner (Prison Break) as Rick Kirkham, Sam Keeley (The Siege of Jadotville) as John Finlay, Dean Winters (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) as Jeff Lowe, Nat Wolff (The Stand) as Travis Maldonado, Lex Mayson (Batwoman) as Saff, and Brian Van Holt (Cougar Town) as John Reinke.

Regardless if it is John Cameron Mitchell or Nicolas Cage, the role of  Joe Schreibvogel, better known as Joe Exotic, came together because of a Texas Monthly article in 2019 and the Netflix series last year. The true story followed Joe, who owned a private zoo in Oklahoma and had a conflict with Carole Baskin and Jeff Lowe. It escalated into a murder mystery regarding Carole’s previous husband, who went missing in 1997, and other chaos that ensued with the various subjects the documentary examined.

If you are missing out on seeing Nicolas Cage as yet another meme-worthy character like Joe Exotic, he still has plenty of work that is out or in production. Right now, he just came out with Pig, a drama of a truffle hunter searching for his kidnapped pig that is getting positive reviews.

For what’s in the works, he has a variety of movies set for the next year. He will play himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which also stars Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian), Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother), Tiffany Haddish (Girls Trip), and Sharon Horgan (Catastrophe). The Leaving Las Vegas actor will star in the Western Butcher’s Crossing, directed and written by documentary filmmaker Gabe Polsky (Red Penguins). Finally, on his agenda, he will star in the action-comedy The Retirement Plan with Ron Perlman (Hellboy), Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen), and Ashley Greene (Twilight).