French Connection's William Friedkin Will Direct Nic Cage's Vigilante Movie

Nicholas Cage as himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent
(Image credit: Lionsgate)

Nicolas Cage is one step closer to committing some awesome mentally unhinged murders. Last month, the actor signed onto the project I Am Wrath, but at the time, no director was in place. French Connection helmer William Friedkin was reportedly mulling it over as a potential next vehicle, but his commitment was far from a guarantee. Over the last three weeks, however, he’s reportedly moved a whole lot closer to committing.

According to Deadline, the deal is basically done, and the project should begin filming in February using a script written by Paul Sloan. It’ll see Cage play a damaged man grieving over his wife’s murder who loses it when the cops refuse to catch the killers. After some digging, he discovers a cesspool of kickbacks, corruption and shady business deals and decides he’s the man who should make those involved pay for abusing their power. If ever there was a job for Cage, it sounds like this one.

As you can see, the plot is definitely a bit B-movie, but Cage has historically thrived when he’s allowed to play a rabid dog mowing down his foes. I Am Wrath will allow him to be reckless and psychotic. In theory, that should make for a gory and snappy film, and considering Friedkin is the crazy bastard who made The Exorcist, there are plenty of reasons to be confident.

We’ll keep you updated as other members of the cast board and a more specific plot begins to take shape. Until then, get excited about Cage going apeshit on police officers.

Editor In Chief

Mack Rawden is the Editor-In-Chief of CinemaBlend. He first started working at the publication as a writer back in 2007 and has held various jobs at the site in the time since including Managing Editor, Pop Culture Editor and Staff Writer. He now splits his time between working on CinemaBlend’s user experience, helping to plan the site’s editorial direction and writing passionate articles about niche entertainment topics he’s into. He graduated from Indiana University with a degree in English (go Hoosiers!) and has been interviewed and quoted in a variety of publications including Digiday. Enthusiastic about Clue, case-of-the-week mysteries, a great wrestling promo and cookies at Disney World. Less enthusiastic about the pricing structure of cable, loud noises and Tuesdays.