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Nicolas Cage is set to play the legendary NFL coach John Madden in a David O. Russell-directed biopic, according to multiple reports on Thursday.
“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,” O. Russell said in a statement. “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.”
According to Variety, Amazon MGM Studios will back the film, which will be produced by Todd Black with Jason Blumenthal, Steve Tisch and Jonathan Shukat, and Matthew Budman. Escape Artists’ David Bloomfield will executive produce.
Madden is one of the most renowned figures in NFL history, making his mark as the Super Bowl-winning head coach of the Oakland Raiders, and later an award-winning color commentator. Especially among younger fans, he’s arguably most known for being the namesake of Electronic Arts’ Madden NFL franchise, one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. Madden died in 2021
A report from The Hollywood Reporter suggests the film will actually focus more on the development on the video game series rather than Madden’s earlier life.
The new role is just the latest in Cage’s uniquely unpredictable career that’s had him play everyone from an American code-cracking treasure hunter cracking to Dracula to a fictionalized version of himself. Recently, Cage starred in the horror flick Longlegs, which he produced as well.
