Nicolas Cage wants to remake The Wicker Man in Japan with Hideo Nakata

Last Updated on July 23, 2021

Nicolas Cage will never be boring. He’ll make some boring movies, yes, but as a personality and screen presence, he’s just too enigmatic, not to mention flat-out bizarre. And as his career becomes more and more unsteady, his filmography is increasingly loaded with questionable choices and uber-goofy performances… and I for one can’t help but gleefully bathe in the insanity.

Case in point: some comments Cage made in an interview with Empire Online. The site had readers submit questions, which Cage would then answer in his own particular style. When asked which of the characters he’s played in the past he’d like to revisit (Stanley from THE ROCK? Cameron from CON AIR?), Cage naturally went in an unexpected direction:

“I would like to hook up with one of the great Japanese filmmakers, like the master that made Ringu, and I would like to take The Wicker Man to Japan, except this time he’s a ghost.”

This has to happen. As incredibly unlikely as that is, it simply has to. I don’t even know if Cage is saying The Wicker Man should be the ghost, or if Cage’s character is the ghost, but it doesn’t really matter. Cage should remake THE WICKER MAN once a year, each time in a different country.

And for the hell of it, here’s a little bonus: Cage talking about a unique post-SPIRIT OF VENGEANCE experience:

“I think that Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance was mentally taxing, if only because I had to go to a Christmas party shortly after I had wrapped photography in Romania at two in the morning as the Ghost Rider. The invitation had a Christmas ornament on it with Ghost Rider’s face on it as a tree. I had a couple of schnapps and went to the party; I had not entirely let go of whatever magic I had been channeling, and all hell broke lose. In fact, I think I kept saying over and over, “Merry Christmas you assholes!” I am lucky I’m not in a Romanian prison.”

Cage in a Romanian prison? I’d watch that movie!

Source: Empire

About the Author

Eric Walkuski is a longtime writer, critic, and reporter for JoBlo.com. He's been a contributor for over 15 years, having written dozens of reviews and hundreds of news articles for the site. In addition, he's conducted almost 100 interviews as JoBlo's New York correspondent.