Nicolas Cage Will No Longer Play Joe Exotic In Shelved Amazon Series
Nicolas Cage will no longer be adding the role of media personality, convicted felon, and big cat lover Joe Exotic to his arsenal of eccentric roles. In a recent statement to Variety, Cage shared that Amazon Studios would be shelving their Tiger King-inspired project as it was no longer “relevant.”
“We should clear the record,” Cage told Variety. “I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt that it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it come together. They felt at one point that it was lightning in a bottle, but that point has since faded into the distance and it’s no longer relevant.”
Amazon has yet to respond to Cage's comments on the status of the Tiger King-related project. However, it appears as if Peacock's Joe Exotic series is still full steam ahead. John Cameron Mitchell is currently signed on to play the titular role, with Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon portraying Exotic’s arch-nemesis Carole Baskin. Earlier in July, it was announced that Twin Peaks' Kyle MacLachlan would be joining the show as Baskin’s husband Howard.
While Cage won't be donning a bleach blonde mullet or singing any country tunes about a wild animal activist's plot to kill her rich husband, he's still looking forward to challenging himself as an actor. In fact, his next role will be his most meta yet — the actor will be playing himself in Tom Gormican’s The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. The movie sees Cage as Nicolas Cage, a cash-strapped actor who becomes involved with an elaborate CIA sting operation.