Nicholas Cage to star as celebrity animal abuser Joe Exotic

Nicholas Cage is to star in a Netflix TV show as Joe "Exotic" Maldonado-Passage, a roadside zookeeper jailed for animal abuse and for trying to arrange the murder of a prominent critic. Exotic's egomaniacal rise and fall, as charted in a recent reality TV show, gripped the nation in the early weeks of the coronavirus pandemic.

Netflix's documentary series Tiger King was a major surprise hit, spawning countless memes and tributes, plus an ill-advised aftershow episode. Unsurprisingly, the series' success has rapidly inspired the development of more Tiger King-based projects, including a limited series (based on the Joe Exotic podcast) starring Kate McKinnon as Carole Baskin.

The latest news is even more unbelievable, as Variety reports that none other than Nicolas Cage has signed on to play Joe Exotic in a scripted series from Dan Lagana (American Vandal showrunner) and Paul Young.

Photoshop: Rob Beschizza