Yep, Nicolas Cage Is Playing Joe Exotic in a New TV Show

Nicolas Cage has been chosen to star in a scripted series based on the life of Joe Exotic, the subject of Netflix's hit show "Tiger King", Variety reported Monday. The coveted part of the infamous Oklahoma zookeeper marks the "National Treasure" actor's first TV series role.

Per Variety, Cage will also executive produce the series via Saturn Films. The drama would be based on Exotic following on from an announcement a year ago. Moor also did a 12-episode podcast, "Joe Exotic: Tiger King" in April 2020.

The series is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios and will soon be offered to TV networks and streaming platforms. Dan Lagana will serve as showrunner. James Seidman and Natalie Berkus from Imagine Television will oversee the project.

The hype and viewership behind Netflix's Tiger King, racking in almost 35 million viewers in its first 10 days, will no doubt make the series a huge success.

Cage wasn't much touted as a potential casting choice when the internet was trying to assemble its own wrecking crew for the Tiger King adaptation.

This miniseries is the second project based on "Tiger King" to be announced in recent months.

For Nicolas, the role comes after several actors, including Kevin Bacon, Rob Lowe, and Orlando Bloom, have been eyed to play Joe - who is now serving 22 years in prison for plotting to murder big cat sanctuary owner Carole Baskin - in both film and TV adaptations of his life.

Exotic has not yet been cast in that particular production, but dozens of celebrities have thrown their hats into the ring, including Shepard, Jared Leto, Shane West and Edward Norton. According to Nielsen, the show was one of Netflix's biggest ever draws, with over 34 million people watching in its first 10 days on the streamer.