Nicolas Cage has been chosen to portray Joe Exotic in an upcoming scripted series based on the Tiger King star.
The eight-part series is based on the Texas Monthly article ‘Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild’ by Leif Reigstad.
Cage, 56, is set to executive produce (via Saturn Films) the story surrounding Joe Schreibvogel, a.k.a Joe Exotic, a zookeeper in Oklahoma.
Coming soon: Nicolas Cage, seen here in Con Air, has been named as the star that will play Joe Exotic in a new scripted series about the eccentric zookeeper
The show will explore how he became Joe Exotic and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation, Variety reports.
It will mark Cage’s first ever television role but based on the variety of oddball characters he’s played on the big screen, it shouldn’t be a challenge for the Oscar winner.
The eight-episode series is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios. It will be taken to market in the coming days.
This is the second scripted series to be based on the Netflix docuseries Tiger King which dropped on Netflix on March 20, becoming a massive hit just as lockdown was taking place across the globe.
Kate McKinnon is attached to the first series, which was announced late last year, and will play Joe’s nemesis Carole Baskin.
Cult star: The eight-part series is based on the Texas Monthly article ‘Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild’ and will explore how Joe Schreibvogel became Joe Exotic (seen above in the hit Netflix docuseries)
The SNL comedian will also executive produce the series, based on six-episode Wondery podcast Joe Exotic.
The podcast follows the life of Baskin, a big cat enthusiast and activist against illegal big-cat zoos.
According to Variety, Netflix’s Tiger King is estimated to have reached an audience of 34.3 million unique viewers in its first 10 days of availability.
In 2018 a federal jury found Exotic guilty on two counts of hiring someone to murder a woman in Florida, eight counts of violating the Lacey Act for falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act for killing five tigers and for selling tigers across state lines.
It will mark Cage’s first ever television role but based on the variety of oddball characters he’s played on the big screen, it shouldn’t be a challenge for the Oscar winner (pictured left in Raising Arizona and right in Drive Angry)
Hit: According to Variety, Netflix’s Tiger King is estimated to have reached an audience of 34.3 million unique viewers in its first 10 days of availability
Another scripted series was announced late last year which is to follow Joe’s nemesis Carole Baskin. SNL star Kate McKinnon has signed on to play Baskin
He had tried to hire an undercover FBI agent to murder Baskin of Big Cat Rescue. He was sentenced to 22 years on January 22, 2019 and is currently incarcerated at FMC Fort Worth.
Meanwhile, Joe has insisted he is ‘done with the Carole Baskin saga’ and doesn’t have any interest in reigniting his feud with the animal rights activist and just wants to get his life back.
Speaking from jail, he said: ‘I’m done with the Carole Baskin saga. It’s now time to turn the tables and Joe get out of jail a free man and exonerated from all of these charges.’
In 2018 a federal jury found Exotic guilty on two counts of hiring someone to murder a woman, eight counts of falsifying wildlife records, and nine counts of violating the Endangered Species Act for killing five tigers and for selling tigers across state lines
Joe was sentenced to 22 years on January 22, 2019 and is currently incarcerated at FMC Fort Worth
However, Joe doesn’t think stardom will dramatically change his character. He added: ‘When I walk out of here, am I gonna be as crazy as I was before? That will never change … You know, it would be nice if I could actually see me being famous there – but I’ve seen these same four walls for a year-and-a-half now.’
The controversial tiger keeper – who once claimed to be the most prolific breeder of tigers in the United States – also expressed regret over his own mistreatment of animals.
He said: ‘Go sit in a cage with your animals for a week … I mean when I left the zoo and I sent my chimpanzees to the sanctuary in Florida and imagined what my chimpanzees went through for 18 years … I’m ashamed of myself.’
Cage, 56, is set to executive produce (via Saturn Films) the story surrounding Joe Schreibvogel, a.k.a Joe Exotic, a zookeeper in Oklahoma