It’s basically the most Nic Cage thing to ever happen, so it’s no wonder that when it was announced that Nic Cage would play Nic Cage in an action-comedy titled The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent, the internet clung to the idea so tightly. Now the first official trailer has arrived, giving us our first proper look at Cage doing, well, Cage – though, as the synopsis has it (see further down), the fictionalised Nic Cage here seems to go by Nick Cage, to avoid any confusion with the real Nic Cage who plays him. Right?
This one looks to have its tongue lodged firmly in its cheek, leaning into the insanity of its premise – as a cash-strapped Cage takes on $1 million to hang out with super-fan Javi, played by Pedro Pascal. And then, Tiffany Haddish’s CIA agent steps in with a wild mission for him. Also among the cast for this one is Neil Patrick Harris (here seen taking a spa day with Cage) and Ike Barinholtz – but it’s unclear whether those two are playing themselves, or if, like Haddish and Pascal, they’re taking on other roles here. And does that mean Tiffany Haddish and Pedro Pascal don’t exist in this universe?
The film is directed by Tom Gormican, who co-wrote the script with Kevin Etten. Check out the official synopsis: “Nicolas Cage stars as... Nick Cage in the action-comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent. Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalised version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal). Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nick Cage.”
You get the sense that, with this just being a teaser trailer, we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg here. But there are some fun blasts of Cage-ian craziness – a brief blast of Vampire’s Kiss, a funny moment with an awful wax statue of Cage holding the golden guns in Face/Off, and a classic Cage freak-out on top of the wall. The actor has been largely doing great work in full-on cult hero mode lately – here’s hoping he can put all of his mercurial Nic Cage talents into playing Nick Cage with aplomb. We’ll found out in April 2022.