Amazon shelves Joe Exotic series starring Nicolas Cage, says report

Hollywood actor Nicolas Cage has revealed that he won’t be playing the role of convicted felon Joe Exotic as Amazon has reportedly shelved the “Tiger King” drama series.

Amazon felt the series had become “past tense”, since “it took such a long time for them to come together,” the 57-year-old actor, an Oscar winner whose performances have been translated to thousands of memes, told Variety.

“I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were 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,” he said.

“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,” he added.

This news comes as NBC Universal’s streaming service Peacock begins production of their own Joe Exotic limited series starring actors Kate McKinnon and John Cameron Mitchell as Carole Baskin and Joe Exotic respectively.

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Peacock’s show is based on the podcast Joe Exotic: Tiger King, released between March and April 2020 by Wondery, a network now owned by Amazon.

Netflix earlier developed an immensely popular documentary series Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness that dealt with Joe Exotic, a former media personality and businessman who attempted to kill Carole Baskin, an animal-rights activist.

According to a synopsis for Peacock’s show, published by The Wrap, “the limited series will centre on Carole Baskin, a big cat enthusiast, who learns that fellow exotic animal lover Joe ‘Exotic’ Schreibvogel is breeding and using his big cats for profit.”

In the series, “she sets out to shut down his venture, inciting a quickly escalating rivalry. But Carole has a checkered past of her own and when the claws come out, Joe will stop at nothing to expose what he sees as her hypocrisy. The results prove dangerous.”

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Joe Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, has meanwhile released his first digital-art collection through non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from prison in Fort Worth, Texas last month.

“Being able to auction off collectibles makes me feel connected with the outside world, especially without my cats by my side,” Exotic said in a statement. “Whether you love me or hate me for what you think I’ve done, there’s no doubt that everyone wants a piece of The Tiger King!”

Exotic was convicted on a number of charges, including a murder-for-hire plot against Baskin.

The Independent has reached out to Cage for a comment.

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