Nicolas Cage revealed in an interview that his plans to star as the “Tiger King” Joe Exotic in an Amazon series have been scrapped, because producers felt that interest in the true-crime case had “faded.” Cage told Variety:  “We should clear the record. 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 come together. 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.”

An Amazon representative confirmed that the project is no longer in development.  The Amazon project was supposed to have been an eight-episode series written by Dan Lagana, based on a 2019 Texas Monthly article, “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” rather than a direct adaptation of the Netflix series.  Cage’s casting was announced in May 2020.

Joe Exotic — real name is Joseph Maldonado-Passage — is serving a 22-year prison sentence after being convicted of plotting to murder longtime rival and animal rights activist Carole Baskin, as well as violating federal wildlife laws. The story became publicized last year following the release of the Netflix documentary series, “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness.”

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