Nicolas Cage set to play Joe Exotic in new series

Actor Nicolas Cage will soon be seen bringing the life of Joe Exotic star onscreen in a scripted series.

Cage is set to star in the series about Joseph Allen Maldonado-Passage, better known by his stage name Joe Exotic, who became popular after his Netflix docu-series "Tiger King".

The eight-episode series is based on the Texas Monthly article "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild" by Leif Reigstad, reports variety.com.

The story is about Joe Exotic, an eccentric zookeeper with a fascination for exotic animals, who fights to keep his park even if it means losing his sanity. The series will explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself due to his obsession.

This is Cage's first television role. The actor is known for his numerous superhits on the big screen including "Leaving Las Vegas", "Adaptation", "Moonstruck", "Raising Arizona", "Face/Off", and the "National Treasure" and "Ghost Rider" films. He recently lent his voice to the Oscar-winning animated film "Spider-Man: Into The Spiderverse".

The Joe Exotic series is being produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS Television Studios.

Dan Lagana will serve as writer, showrunner, and executive producer, with Paul Young executive producing the series via Make Good Content. Cage will also executive produce via Saturn Films.