Nicolas Cage Set For Paul Schrader’s The Dying Of The Light

With all the talk of actors retiring right now, it’s nice to be reassured that some of our favorites will not be going anywhere. Nicolas Cage is not only not going anywhere, but he’s going to appear in everything he can get his hands on. There’s now word that Cage has signed on to appear in Paul Schrader’s next film The Dying Of The Light.

The Dying Of the Light comes to Schrader via Nicolas Winding Refn, who was planning to direct the film a few years back. That project fell through when Refn failed to convince Harrison Ford about the fate of his character. Schrader says that Refn will likely remain in place as an executive producer, but Schrader himself will take on directing duties. Cage presumably will take over the Harrison Ford part. Channing Tatum was originally cast opposite Ford, but there’s no word yet on if he’ll remain in place.

The Dying Of The Light follows a CIA agent who goes blind during his final mission. Schrader, who also penned the script, plans to make the film more ‘conventionally’ than his recent movie The Canyons, which was a low-budget indie. It also starred Lindsay Lohan and a porn star. Does this mean we’re not going to see Nicolas Cage naked?

Nicolas Cage really has no discernment when it comes to films any more, so this piece of casting news does nothing to make me more interested in a project that Harrison Ford dropped. Schrader might be on the upswing right now, but let’s face it: the guy was never the auteur he thought he was. Given Schrader’s penchant for doing crazy and disturbing films and Cage’s notorious tendency to ham it up, this could be a match made in hell. Still, the plot sounds semi-intriguing and Winding Refn never fails to involve himself in interesting projects. I think we can file this one in the ‘wait and see’ category.

We’ll keep an eye on The Dying Of The Light and let you know as more details emerge.