Nicolas Cage to play Tiger King’s Joe Exotic in new scripted series

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

Go home, 2020, you're drunk!

It's been announced that the man, the myth, Nicolas Cage, will play Joe Exotic, the surreal subject of the Netflix docuseries TIGER KING, for a new 8-episode scripted series. The project is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios.

Those in charge of what I assume will be a very wild ride are set to bring the show to market in just a few days. In other words, it's best that you steel yourselves for a heated bidding war indeed. In what we've heard so far, the show is based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad.

As per Variety, the story centers around Joe Schreibvogel, a.k.a Joe Exotic, an eccentric, exotic zookeeper in Oklahoma who fights to keep his park even at the risk of losing his sanity. 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.

Word has it that Dan Lagana and Paul Young optioned the article via Lagana’s overall deal at CBS Television Studios in June of 2019. As such, Lagana will act as writer, showrunner, and executive producer with Young executive producing courtesy of Make Good Content. Imagine’s Brian Grazer and Samie Kim Falvey will also executive produce by way of Imagine. Oh, and if you thought that Cage's involvement was limited to playing Joe Exotic for the series, think again! Cage will also executive produce via Saturn Films, with Scott Brown and Megan Creydt executive producing for Texas Monthly.

For those of you who've yet to tumble down the disturbing rabbit hole that is Netflix's TIGER KING, the documentary details the events leading up to platinum blonde mullet-sporting tiger breeder Joe Exotic's conviction for murder-for-hire against Big Cat Rescue non-profit founder and quintessential crazy cat lady Carole Baskin.

I'm sorry, but I can't even with this news. I challenge you to propose a more inspired casting choice for any film ever made. Spoilers! You can't! It's impossible!

Oddly enough, the Cage-related project is the second scripted series based on TIGER KING to be announced. It's true! Late last year, it was announced that Kate McKinnon is expected to star in and executive produce a series based on the Wondery podcast "Joe Exotic," with McKinnon starring as Carole Baskin. For the moment, it sounds as if McKinnon's TIGER KING project is still on the prowl for a writer.

Where do you land on Cage taking on the role of Joe Exotic for a new limited series? Let us hear your thoughts in the comments section below.