Nicolas Cage to play Tiger King star Joe Exotic in new scripted TV series

Cat trader previously said he wanted Brad Pitt to portray him

Nicolas Cage will star as Joe Exotic in a new scripted series about the animal trader at the centre of Netflix’s Tiger King.

The eight-episode show is based on the Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad.

It will chronicle how Exotic, an eccentric zookeeper in Oklahoma “fought to keep his park even at the risk of losing his sanity”.

According to Variety, “the series will live in the lion’s den with Joe, explore how he became Joe Exotic, and how he lost himself to a character of his own creation”.

Tiger King explored the feud between Exotic and animal rights activist Carole Baskin.

Exotic – who is currently serving a 22-year prison sentence for his involvement in a murder-for-hire plot and numerous animal abuse charges - previously named Brad Pitt and David Spade as his preferred actors to play him in any future adaptation.

The role will be Cage’s first-ever TV performance after a decades-long career in film.

Last year, it was reported that Cage was in talks to play himself in a film about him trying to land a role in a new Quentin Tarantino movie. The meta-sounding film is titled Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.