The first person to land the coveted Joe Exotic role in a scripted series or film goes to someone that will surely excite many film fans around the world—Nicolas Cage. Yep, Nic Cage is getting his shot at Joe Exotic. For those looking for proof that God exists, this is it.
According to Variety, Cage has signed on to star in an untitled scripted series based on the story of Joe Exotic, who rose to fame thanks to the recent “Tiger King” docuseries on Netflix. It’s difficult to even begin how to describe the story of Joe Exotic, but suffice it to say, the story of the gay, gubernatorial candidate that sports a mullet, terrible piercings and tattoos, and used to run a roadside zoo is right up the alley of Cage.
The series isn’t based on “Tiger King,” however. Instead, it’s based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad, which obviously is about the same cast of characters found in Netflix’s wildly popular series. So, whatever, same-same. The new series is being developed by Dan Lagana and Paul Young. Lagana is probably best known as the showrunner behind the underrated Netflix series “American Vandal.”
Interestingly, the role marks the first-ever TV series for Nicolas Cage, who has spent decades headlining films that have become legendary (along with a great many that didn’t quite reach that status or did so for, uh, other reasons). The Joe Exotic series marks the latest in a long line of interesting roles recently given to Cage. It’s fair to say that after “Mandy” and “Color Out of Space,” Cage has been on an upward trend. He’s next going to be featured in the wacky, but incredibly interesting, film “Wally’s Wonderland” (where he plays a janitor against a bunch of evil animatronics at an amusement park). He’s also set to star in a film titled “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent,” where Cage stars as himself in a film about Nicolas Cage trying to land a role in a Quentin Tarantino film. And to be honest, there are other film projects that are bonkers but we don’t have time to mention here.
READ MORE: ‘Tiger King’ Has Been Watched By More Than 34 Million US Viewers In Its First 10 Days
So, with that being said, it’s only fitting that Nicolas Cage gets a shot as Joe Exotic. And once you close your eyes and imagine Cage in full costume, saying the things that Joe Exotic has become infamous for, it’s clear as day that he’s maybe the perfect person for the job. If nothing else, the series will be endlessly entertaining.
