Nicolas Cage To Play Joe Exotic In Tiger King Series

Nick Cage was tipped to be cast as Joe Exotic in a new television show spawned by the success of the Netflix documentary series Tiger King. Nicolas Cage, the most interesting actor in movies – certainly one of the most prolific, if nothing else, was reportedly signed to work with Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios own eight-episode series about the Tiger King himself, Joe Exotic, aka Joe Schreibvogel.

This new series, says Variety, will be based on the Texas Monthly article "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild." That article was written by journalist Leif Reigstad, and was optioned by Dan Lagana and Paul Young in June of the year 2019.

It's difficult to believe that the rights to this article to be used as a base for a television show were optioned before the Netflix series was originally released. The Netflix series is one of the most successful releases on Netflix in the history of the platform. But Lagana's seen the waves roll in in the past.

Lagana was showrunner for the Netflix mockumentary series Amarican Vandal. That series was nominated for an Emmy, and though it did not see the success of Tiger King, it's clear Lagana knows the potential for a limited-time episodic piece of television.

The scripted series that'll star Nicolas Cage will reportedly be "taken to market" this week. That means that though it's produced by CBS Television Studios, it could also premiere on a streaming service other than CBS's own. This could be the ideal point at which Hulu could join in on the Tiger King fun.

It is not yet clear when this series would premiere, but given the state of the world today, it'd be a shock to see it appear in the next few months. Cross your fingers for a release in time for the second wave of COVID-19 and the long winter ahead!