Massive Talent: Daniel Day-Lewis & Christian Bale Were Considered For Nic Cage Role

screenrant.com:

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent screenwriter Kevin Etten has revealed that the filmmakers behind the movie considered Daniel Day-Lewis or Christian Bale for the role of Nicolas Cage if Cage opted not to play himself. The film follows a fictionalized version of the Face/Off actor hired to visit the home of a rich fan (Pedro Pascal). Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent hit theaters this weekend and is currently earning strong reviews from critics.

Massive Talent is a profound and meta exploration of Cage’s legacy in Hollywood. The film sees the actor portray a version of himself who has fallen on hard times and struggling to find lead roles. Eventually, he is lured to the island of a rich Cage super fan named Javi (Pedro Pascal) with the promise of $1 million for attending a birthday. From there, Cage finds himself recruited by the CIA to conduct surveillance on the man who hired him.

Related: Does Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent Have An After Credits Scene?

Now that The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent has debuted in theaters, new information on the development of the project has emerged. In a recent interview with THR, screenwriter Kevin Etten confirmed that there were original takes on the project that would have had either Day-Lewis or Bale stepping in to actually play Cage. Etten said:

There were times when I think I, more than Tom, was trying to talk myself into other ideas. The only actually good idea — I don’t know whose it was — was to have either Christian Bale or Daniel Day-Lewis playing Nick Cage. But really, no.

Ultimately it seems that the filmmakers got to make the version of Massive Talent that they wanted to make. However, they had to have backup plans available just in case they could not