‘Highfire’: Nicolas Cage To Voice A Washed Up, Alcohol-Loving Dragon In Amazon Adaptation
Over the course of his career,Nicolas Cagehas played an angel, a con man, a thief, a treasure hunter, an animated mole, a sorcerer, a knight, and a black-and-white version of Spider-Man, just to name a few. Now he’s finally adding “dragon” to his resume.
The famously eccentric actor will star in an executive produceHighfire, Amazon’s adaptation ofArtemis Fowlauthor Eoin Colfer’s fantasy novel. Cage will voice a vodka-loving dragon who was once a fearsome force to be reckoned with, but who now spends his days drinking and binge-watching Netflix. Dear Amazon: I’d like to see this show immediately, please.
Deadline has the news aboutHellfire, a Nicolas Cage dragon show that’s being adapted byDavey Holmes, the guy behind Epix’s television adaptation ofGet Shorty. Described as “a gritty crime-thriller with doses of magical realism,” the show centers on a dragon named Wyvern, Lord Highfire of the Highfire Eyrie…who now just goes by the name “Vern” and spends his time hiding out in the bayous of Louisiana drinking, wearing aFlashdanceT-shirt, lighting cigarettes with his nose sparks, and binging Netflix in his La-Z-Boy recliner. But “when Vern’s world collides with a human teen named Squib, who becomes mixed up in some trouble while running booze for the local mob, their mutual struggle for survival becomes entangled in the most unlikely of friendships.”
That is an absolutelyincrediblepremise, and the idea of bringing Cage on board to voice this dragon is particularly inspired, because everyone who loves his body of work for its sheer insanity will likely be on board to see him do something like this that he’s never done before. While the most recent adaptation of Colfer’s work was a creative disaster – theArtemis Fowlmovie was dumped on Disney+ and ultimately spared the embarrassment of publicly eating shit with a theatrical release – I have to hope that this series will end up being better.
Elsewhere, Cage will soon be playingTiger King’sJoe Exoticin a new series, a janitor who battles possessed animatronic characters in a horror film calledWally’s Wonderland, and a heightened version of himself inThe Unbearable Weight of Massive TalentoppositeThe Mandalorianactor Pedro Pascal.
