Nicolas Cage is set to play Joe Exotic in upcoming ‘Tiger King’ series—here’s how Twitter reacted to the news

Is this real life or is it just fantasy? When Tiger King was first released on Netflix back in March, it went viral. The binge-worthy documentary series was so bizarre and crazy but everyone couldn’t stop watching. Nobody could look away from Joe Exotic—and his many tigers. The show also spawned a series of memes, including a Carole Baskin version of Megan Thee Stallion’s Savage on TikTok.

It was recently revealed that the one-and-only Nicolas Cage would be playing the infamous Joe Exotic in an upcoming scripted miniseries. The Academy Award winner—known for films such as Leaving Las Vegas, Snake Eyes, National Treasure, Ghost Rider, and Moonstruck—is one of the most popular actors of the generation. In fact, when Netflix released Tiger King, the Internet went ballistic with suggestions for a film or television series; with Nicolas Cage being one of the most mentioned names. The others were David Spade and Danny McBride.

The planned series—to be produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios—will comprise of eight episodes. It is known that the programme will be based on Leif Reigstad’s Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild. The writer, showrunner, and executive producer will be Dan Lagana; with Nicolas Cage himself signing on as Executive Producer via his own company, Saturn Films.

The premise of the series revolves around the story of how Joe Schreibvogel (Joseph Maldonado-Passage) became Joe Exotic and his life as a zookeeper in Oklahoma. The struggles to keep his park from all forms of challenges will be showcased. Here’s a fun fact: This will be Nicolas Cage’s first proper regular television role!

What are your thoughts about this announcement? Do you think Nicolas Cage is the right person to play Joe Exotic in Tiger King? Here are some of the best Twitter reactions:

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It seems like the Internet has mixed reactions towards Nicolas Cage’s casting—with some hoping for someone else and the rest applauding the decision. The question right now is: who will be playing Carole Baskin and the other colourful personalities from Tiger King? We’ll just have to wait for updates!

For our take on Tiger King, click here.