Nicolas Cage is in talks to star as himself in an upcoming film called The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, the project is in “final negotiations” to be picked up by Lionsgate Films after a bidding war with Paramount Pictures and HBO’s upcoming streaming service, HBO Max.
As described by the outlet, the reportedly “meta” script — which was co-written by Kevin Etten and director Tom Gormican (That Awkward Moment) — follows a struggling Cage, 58, in a bizarre plot where he’s trying his best to land a role in a new Quentin Tarantino flick as his career and notoriety recede.
As the perplexing American actor struggles with debt and maintaining a healthy relationship with his teenage daughter, he is paid to make an appearance at the birthday party of a Mexican billionaire superfan, who is secretly the leader of a drug cartel.
The kingpin becomes close to Cage after pitching a movie script to him. However, the actor is later called and notified by the CIA of his new friend’s real identity.
Cage is then recruited by the government agency to gather intel on the man, as he has kidnapped the daughter of a prominent presidential nominee in Mexico.
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The National Treasure star’s ex-wife and daughter are then reportedly brought into the mix when the billionaire flies them out to reconnect with Cage.
A representative of Cage told Global News that the actor’s involvement is “still in negotiations.”
Multiple reports, including NME, suggest that Gormican sent Cage a copy of the script along with a letter, calling The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent a “love letter” to his career rather than a mockery or parody of it.
From Face/Off (1997) to Con Air (1997), The Wicker Man (2006) and Kick-Ass (2010), Cage has starred in a multitude of unique films over the years.
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Though he regularly appears in a handful of films per year, his presence in Hollywood blockbusters waned after Marvel’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance in 2011.
Since then, he has starred in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) as the much-beloved and comical Spider-Man Noir.