Nicolas Cage To Star In His First Western, The Old Way

Nicolas Cage is set to star in an upcoming Western, titled The Old Way. Cage has become a household name in the years since he started acting in the ’80s. The actor has starred in a variety of projects over the years, including 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas, which earned him his first Academy Award. Despite the dozens of movies he has been in, Cage has never starred in a Western.

THR confirmed Cage’s upcoming starring role, also reporting that The Old Way is heading to the film market in Toronto. The prolific actor will play Colton Briggs, a gunslinger-turned-general store manager who lives a quiet life with his family. When a band of outlaws murders his wife, Briggs saddles up once again to seek vengeance alongside his 12-year-old daughter. The lauded actor expressed gratitude for being able to “play” in a new genre over forty years into his career. Check out Cage’s full quote below:

“After 43 years in cinema, I’m only now being invited to the important and storied genre of the Western with both The Old Way and Butcher’s Crossing. Being born and raised in the West, this is another good match and long overdue. I’m excited and compelled by the complex characters of both Briggs and Miller, and to find new ground to play at 57 is indeed galvanizing.”

As Cage mentions in his press quote, The Old Way isn’t the actor’s only Western genre project in the works. In June it was announced that Cage would star in Butcher’s Crossing, an adaptation of the John Williams novel about a Harvard dropout who ventures West in the 1870s. Cage will shoot both projects in Montana.

The Old Way will be directed by Brett Donowho, who helmed 2018’s Acts of Violence. The script was penned by Carl W. Lucas. Donowho voiced his excitement to work with Cage, who he called a “consummate professional.” He said, “It is both an honor and privilege to work with Nic on the first Western of his illustrious career.” There is no release date yet for The Old Way.

Source: THR