The Nicolas Cage renaissance continues as the actor follows up “Pig” in 2021 and “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent” last year with two westerns including “The Old Way” out today, “Butcher’s Crossing” later this year and the horror-comedy “Renfield”.
Back in his famed 1990s ‘peak period’, one of Cage’s most iconic performances was as wide-eyed super criminal Castor Troy in John Woo’s 1997 action feature “Face/Off” alongside John Travolta. The film was successful, pulling in $247 million off an $80 million budget and scoring very good reviews.
He followed that up a year later with Brian DePalma’s “Snake Eyes,” an assassination thriller that scored mixed reviews and flopped but is mostly famous for its beginning and end. The start boasts an unbroken 12-minute Steadicam shot involving a massive arena full of people. The end was a cobbled-together mess after the effects-heavy ending involving a tidal wave was cut from the film.
This week, out promoting “The Old Way,” he touched upon sequel talk about both. First up, he chatted with Collider and was asked about his interest in returning for a “Face/Off” follow-up which filmmaker Adam Wingard has been linked to direct. Cage confirmed he’s had an initial discussion about the film and revealed a little about the story:
“I think Face/Off is a sequel that lends itself to a lot of twists and turns and unpredictability. It’s almost like if you factor in the idea of offspring and Castor and Sean having children and these children grow up, then it becomes like three-dimensional chess, and then it’s not just the two, John Travolta and myself, it’s four of us ping-ponging and going at different levels, and it becomes even more complex. I think there’s a lot of fertile ground there. I had maybe one meeting in an office, but I haven’t heard anything since, so I don’t know.”
Cage goes on to praise Wingard, saying they share similar tastes and sensibilities and that “he has respect for cinema and various kinds of iconography.” Shortly after, he spoke with Slashfilm about a “Snake Eyes” follow-up and says he would return to the role of Detective Rick Santoro if De Palma should desire it as he’s very keen to work with the helmer again:
“I’ve been trying to work with Brian ever since I made that movie. We had a great script about Howard Hughes that David Koepp wrote. I’d like to revisit that. But I just found out that it’s the 23rd anniversary of ‘Snake Eyes.’ I don’t watch my old movies, but I’m compelled to watch that one again because I had a great time working with Brian, because of his guts and his ability to do these huge takes… There was an adrenaline to that. I would love to do a sequel to ‘Snake Eyes,’ and with Brian De Palma. He’s one of my favorite directors.”
De Palma is now 82 and last directed 2019’s “Domino” which even the filmmaker himself says he was not a fan of. Cage meanwhile has multiple projects in the can with “The Retirement Plan,” “Sympathy for the Devil” and “Dream Scenario” all in post-production whilst “Sand and Stones” is currently filming.
