Despite his wide range of eccentric roles, Nicolas Cage is no longer starring as Joe Exotic since Amazon has cancelled their Tiger King project. Throughout his entire career, Cage has taken on numerous, meme-worthy roles that highlight his unique acting style which often results in bold, over-the-top performances. So, from one eccentric personality to another, Cage seemed like the perfect choice to play the wacky Joe Exotic.
During the 2020 coronavirus global pandemic, Netflix introduced zookeeper Joe Exotic to the world in their documentary, Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness. The true crime docu-series explored the life of Exotic and his spiral into madness that ended with his felony conviction for the attempted murder of conservationist, Carole Baskin. Despite the Tiger King's terrible behavior towards his animals, associates, and loved ones, the Netflix show was a massive hit, earning 34.3 million views over the first ten days of release, making it one of the streaming service's most successful releases to date. Due to its critical and commercial success, it was only a matter of time before a scripted Tiger King series or movie based on the documentary would come about.
According to Variety, Cage revealed that he is no longer scheduled to star as Joe Exotic since Amazon has cancelled their Tiger King project. Hoping to clear the record, Cage mentions that Amazon ultimately felt the subject matter was no longer relevant. Because the project took so long to come together, the point has faded into the distance. View Cage's full quote below:
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 first announced their Tiger King project back in September of 2020 with Cage pegged to play the eccentric Exotic after the overnight success of the Netflix series. Since that initial announcement, no further details have emerged, and it seems that was for a specific reason. From Cage's quote above, it's clear that Amazon no longer thinks a scripted series would be nearly as successful as the original documentary. However, while the project is shelved for now, sources close to the situation say it may be shopped around to other outlets.
As mentioned above, Cage is a very interesting choice to play Exotic. Throughout the original documentary, Exotic's penchant for wild stunts would fit right in with Cage's acting wheelhouse. One could easily picture Cage sporting a bleached blonde mullet recreating iconic scenes from the Netflix series. It's truly a shame that scenario most likely won't come to a reality. However, if the sources are correct, and considering Cage's willingness for big performances, the project still has some hopes of coming to life.
Source: Variety