Nicolas Cage has a way of staying in the news, even though his recent roles have left something to be desired. That may change with the latest casting news that puts him in the eccentric shoes (make that cowboy boots) of Joseph Maldonado-Passage (aka Joe Exotic), the former Oklahoma zoo owner currently serving 22 years in prison for a murder-for-hire plot and killing tigers. Cage is reportedly playing the outrageous egomaniac in an eight-episode scripted series from CBS TV Studios, Imagine Television Studios, and Make Good Content.
“The series will live in the lion’s den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation,” the show’s logline reads.
For anyone who’s seen the so-bad-it’s-good Netflix docuseries Tiger King about Maldonado-Passage (and if you haven’t, what’s wrong with you?), this casting choice couldn’t be more perfect. Cage does unhinged like few other actors can, and Maldonado-Passage is more than a little unhinged. The story of his rise and fall in the big cat business world is rife with meth addiction, bigamy, maulings, and even suicide. It’s more drama than one series (much less a life) should be able to contain, but if anyone can capture the craziness of it all, it’s Cage. He might even make a better Joe Exotic than Joe Exotic himself, and will certainly garner a whole new fan base in the process.
Cover Photos: Jon Kopaloff / Stringer (Getty Images) and Netflix
Another spin-off: ‘Tiger King’ Nemesis Carole Baskin Is the Focus of a New Series About Missing Husband
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