A buzz surrounding the Netflix documentary series Tiger King has reached Nicolas Cage, who agreed to star as former tiger breeder Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Madonado-Passage.
In a report from Variety, Cage is expected to play the prolific Tiger King role across eight episodes based on Exotic’s life. It’s also the actor’s first opportunity on TV following a lifelong career in film. The series is also being created and produced by crew who worked on Netflix’s American Vandal which poked fun at crime documentary series through crude humor.
Instead of taking notes from the popular Netflix Tiger King series, writer Dan Lagana is basing the story on a longform piece about the subject by Texas Monthly. Paul Young is executive producing the show with support from Imagine Television Studios, CBS and Cage himself under his Saturn Films brand. The show also competes with other projects, including a short series starring Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin.
Of course, the documentary also covers an intricate murder plan and animal abuse with tigers – charges which led to Joe Exotic’s conviction in 2019. It’s unclear how far Cage’s role would take him across time, while audiences are likely to see a graphic retelling of Exotic’s career starting in the late 80’s with added drama.
