Nicolas Cage is preparing to play NFL pioneer John Madden in a new biography for Amazon MGM Studios.
Following a string of memorable performances in psychological horror Longlegs, indie drama Pig, and madcap meta comedy The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent.
According to Deadline, Cage has landed the lead role in writer-director David O. Russell’s Madden, which will follow the American football commentator and coach’s incredible journey from winning the Super Bowl as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders to his extraordinary emergence as the face and name of video game mega-franchise Madden NFL.
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While O. Russell has directed a few biopics, including Mark Wahlberg’s The Fighter and Jennifer Lawrence’s Joy, Madden will be Cage’s first foray into the genre, as his most well-known role as a real person thus far has been as Nicolas Cage in The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent (sorry, USS Indianapolis).
However, it remains to be seen how rigorously this film will conform to biopic convention, with reports indicating that it will be as much a genesis story for the Madden video games as it is an all-out soup-to-nuts account of John Madden’s ascent to stardom.
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“Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination, in which anything is possible, as beloved national legend John Madden,” said American Hustle director O. Russell in a statement accompanying the film’s announcement. “Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.”
This Madden casting news is the latest big development for Cage, who was recently announced to reprise his role as Spider-Man Noir in Prime Video’s upcoming live-action Spider-Verse series Spider-Noir. Only time will tell when we can expect to see that program, or this Madden film, as no release dates or casting news have been announced. But whether Cage and O. Russell get Madden to the end zone or fumble the biopic ball, we can’t wait to see. Have your shoulder pads ready, guys!
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