A Tiger King deepfake replaces Joe Exotic’s face with Nicholas Cage. To date, Netflix has had a massive hit with its true-crime docuseries, and people around the world are fascinated by the lives and bizarre stories of the program’s real-life cast of characters.
However, the character who undoubtedly received the most attention is Joseph Maldonado-Passage - or as he’s more widely known, Joe Exotic. Currently serving a 22-year prison term for his involvement in a murder-for-hire scheme, Exotic had become the target of Carol Baskin, an animal rights activist and CEO of the Florida based animal sanctuary Big Cat Rescue. Baskin had taken exception to the existence of Exotic’s Oklahoma based exotic animal facility, the Greater Wynnewood Exotic Animal Park, as well as Exotic’s alleged treatment of the animals that his park kept. But as time passes and more scrutiny is placed on the events of Tiger King, it appears there is more to the story that isn’t yet known. Now with everything from a new documentary to a comic book to a TV adaptation on its way, the world is getting set to see a whole lot more of Tiger King’s strange cast.
It seems that with the Tiger King TV adaptation officially in development, Nicolas Cage has been cast as Exotic. This recent announcement has caused a variety of reactions online from fans of both the series and of Cage. And while it’s clear that not everyone thinks Cage is the ideal match to play such an oddball character, it does look as though there are those who want to give us all a chance to see just what Cage can do with the character. One such person is YouTube user Kamikabee, who has put together a very convincing deepfake of Cage as Exotic. The end result, which shows Cage/Exotic in a variety of scenes, can be seen below:
Indeed, the video does offer some substantial proof that Cage as Exotic is a very interesting prospect. The deepfake is well done and gives Tiger King fans the ability to see (but not hear) how Cage could potentially handle the role. At the same time, however, it’s important to remember that a deepfake – as realistic as it may or may not be, isn’t going to be an accurate representation of Cage’s ability to play Exotic. Those who previously had reservations regarding the casting will likely still have the same concerns and questions over Cage’s portrayal of Exotic. A wide variety of deepfakes focusing on different films and actors have been popping up all over the internet for quite some time now. The results are often surprising, if not a little bit creepy. Kamikabee’s Tiger King deepfake hovers somewhere in between the two.
Whenever Hollywood is adapting a popular story or character, there is never a shortage of opinions over who should be cast in the lead role. It’s impossible to please everyone in this sort of situation, and no matter who is ultimately cast will receive a certain degree of criticism. Nicolas Cage has had an extensive career in Hollywood and even took home an Oscar back in 2002. But a quick look at the star’s resume over the years doesn’t supply a lot of hits, and that alone has concerned many.
Source: Kamikabee via Youtube