"It’s no longer relevant"
Unfortunately, it looks like we'll never see the actor play the role of the unhinged man who loves tigers more than people.
The Amazon series about the life of Joe Exotic, starring Nicolas Cage as the main man, has been shelved according to sources.
Hot on the heels of the Netflix docuseries consuming the world in the middle of a pandemic last year, studios furiously began concocting ways of delivering more 'Tiger King' goodness to the masses. This Amazon Prime series was just one of a number of scripted drama series in the works, but it looks like it might never see the light of day.
When asked by Variety if the Joe Exotic project was still in the pipeline, Nicolas Cage responded by implying Amazon won't be moving the production forward as it may be redundant by the time it gets released.
He said: "There were two excellent scripts, and I do mean excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt that it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it to come together. They felt at one point that it was lightning in a bottle, but that point has since faded into the distance and it’s no longer relevant."
The eight-episode series is produced by CBS Studios, which is likely to see if any other streaming service wishes to pick up the project. The series was to be inspired by the Netflix documentary as well as the 2019 'Texas Monthy' spread on Joe. It was first announced back in May 2020 when interest in the show was at its peak.
The separate Kate McKinnon-led drama/comedy series is still in the pipeline, however. The actor will play the role of cat-lover Carole "hey all you cool cats and kittens" Baskin, while the role of Joe Exotic will be played by Cameron Mitchell. Kyle MacLachlan recently joined the series as Carole's current husband Howard.