Perfect casting or a beautiful disaster, call it what you like — either way, Nicolas Cage is playing Joe Exotic.
In what can only be described as a match made in heaven, hell, or a combination of the above — Nicolas Cage has officially been tapped to play Joe Exotic in a scripted Tiger King series. Upon a brief reflection, it’s not exactly surprising to see the Oscar-winning actor gravitating toward the Exotic, who has become a pop-culture staple damn near overnight. The possibilities for hamming it up are staggeringly high, and Cage’s wide-eyed rapturous intensity has been the subject of memes for years upon years — who better to play a meme than a meme himself?
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The series, which will mark Cage’s first television role, is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. As for the creative minds behind it, Dan Lagana of American Vandal has already been locked in as showrunner, executive producer, and writer. According to the initial report from Variety, this series is set to be based on Leif Reigstad’s Texas Monthly article Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild.
Aside from this surreal development, little else is known about the upcoming series — save for it being but one of many upcoming Tiger King related properties. If you thought the original Netflix documentary series was ubiquitous enough wait until we’re fielding the Nicolas Cage series, Kate McKinnon’s upcoming turn as Carole Baskins in a separate show, yet another Joe Exotic series with Rob Lowe attached, and finally an additional documentary on Baskins and Exotic’s tumultuous relationship as mortal enemies. Will you be tuning in to watch this one unfold?
