Nicolas Cage and a gripping backstory: Everything we know about the new 'Tiger King' series.

It was only a matter of time before the widely popular Tiger King docu-series on Netflix got snapped up by Hollywood. More than 34 million people watched the series in its first 10 days on the streaming service.

If you haven’t yet stepped into the mind-boggling world of tiger breeding in America, where Joe Exotic, a self described “gay, gun-toting cowboy with a mullet”, is in a vicious tiger-related feud with Carole Baskin, a leopard print loving cats-rights activist who half the world thinks murdered her husband, excuse us, but what isolation rock have you been living under?

Variety reports a scripted series centred on just Joe (real name, Joseph Allen Schreibvogel) is currently in the works, and will be taken to market in coming days.

WATCH: Here’s the trailer for the original, in case you need a refresh. Post continues after video. 

It’s to be produced by Imagine Television Studios and CBS, and will star Nicolas Cage, who is best known for his action flicks.

The series is to be based off a Texas Monthly article “Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild,” by Leif Reigstad, which explores how Joseph became Joe Exotic – the eccentric tiger breeder from the deep south.

Published in June 2019, the article talks about how Joe grew up in an unaffectionate family and became a police officer straight out of high school. His dad made him shake his hand and promise not to come to his funeral when his parents found out he was gay as a young man.

 

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A reminder of better days ❤️ @dillert_lclm

A post shared by Joe Exotic (@joe_exotic) on Apr 19, 2020 at 1:54pm PDT

He tried to end his own life soon after, veering his police cruiser off a bridge. After surviving and moving to Florida, Joe started working in a pet shop, where he helped his neighbour (who worked at an exotic animal park) bottle feed baby lions and monkeys.

He was hooked, and moved back to Texas to start his career in the exotic animal industry.

Turns out there’s a lot more to the story of Joe Exotic than Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness would have us believe, which is what the new eight episode series is counting on.

But it’s not the first scripted version of Joe’s life that’s been announced.

A competing series based on the Wondery podcast Joe Exotic was announced late last year, with Saturday Night Live’s Kate McKinnon to star as Carole Baskin. According to Variety however, the show is still seeking a writer. The Guardian reports actors Dax Shepard, Edward Norton and Jared Leto have all expressed interest in the role on social media.

The man of the hour Joe, is currently serving a 22-year federal prison sentence for his conviction in a murder-for-hire plot against nemesis Carole Baskin, and animal abuse.

When asked who he'd like to play him in an on-screen adaptation of his life, he told the Hollywood Reporter he'd be happy with either Brad Pitt or David Spade.

Feature image: Instagram/Getty.