Nicolas Cage has had quite the resurgence in the past few years and a lot of that has been thanks to his work in acclaimed genre films such as Mandy and Color Out of Space. Well, the Cage renaissance looks to continue in the coming years, and, in this case, the Oscar-winning actor is gearing up for what might be his first-ever role in a live-action TV show. That role, you ask? It will be as the voice of a vodka-drinking dragon in an adaptation of the novel Highfire. Yes, you read all of that correctly.
According to Deadline, Highfire is now set up at Paramount+ after initially entering development at Amazon back in August of 2020. This may have slipped under many people’s radar at the time, given the pandemic of it all. The novel was written by Eoin Colfer and is described as True Detective meets Pete’s Dragon. And it gets weirder! The show will be a “crime-thriller with doses of magical realism,” and Cage’s character is named Vern, a dragon who loves Flashdance and lives a quiet life in the swamps of Louisiana. What a time to be alive. For a little more context, here is a full synopsis of the novel:
“Once upon a time, dragons ruled the earth and Lord Highfire ruled the dragons from his eyrie. But this is not once upon a time, this is now, and now all Lord Highfire rules is his shack in Louisiana’s Honey Island Swamp. Highfire has become plain old ‘Vern’ and, by day, he hides out among the alligators, watches cable-TV and drinks obscene amounts of vodka to pass the time. It isn’t much of a life but he’s alive to live it, and Vern is prepared do whatever it takes – even if its violent – to preserve his own hide. 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.”
Davey Holmes (Get Shorty) is tasked with adapting the story for the small screen. Both Holmes and Cage are on board as executive producers alongside Andrew Mittman. There is no word yet on who else might be eyed to star with Cage, but should it go the distance at Paramount+, it will be a milestone in Cage’s illustrious career.
In all his years, the actor has never starred as a regular in a TV show. He was, at one point, going to play Joe Exotic, of Tiger King fame, in a live-action series for Amazon before that fell apart. Though, if we’re being honest, a vodka-drinking dragon seems much more appropriate for Cage’s first foray into live-action television. Meanwhile, Cage is also set to star as Dracula in Renfield, which is set to hit theaters next year.
Highfire does not yet have a release date set.
