Nicolas Cage's Tiger King series scrapped: 'No longer relevant'

Nicolas Cage had been due to portray the 'Tiger King' star in a new eight-episode series from Amazon. Photo / Supplied

Nicolas Cage's Joe Exotic biopic has been scrapped because it is "no longer relevant".

The Con Air actor had been due to portray the Tiger King star in a new eight-episode series from Amazon and although he thought the scripts for the project were "excellent", he's admitted too much time has passed now for the project to go ahead.

He told Variety: "We should clear the record. I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt that it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it come together. They felt at one point that it was lightning in a bottle, but that point has since faded into the distance and it's no longer relevant."

However, sources told the outlet that the project may still be shopped to other networks.

A spokesperson for Amazon declined to comment.

Meanwhile, the 57-year-old star will next be working on his most "terrifying" project yet; playing Nic Cage in Tom Gormican's The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, in which his cash-strapped alter ego agrees to make a paid appearance at a rich superfan's birthday party as part of a CIA sting operation.

Cage thought the script for the series was 'excellent', but revealed that producers ultimately decided to scrap the show. Photo / Getty Images

And Cage admitted he hesitated before agreeing to play a distorted version of himself.

He said: "It was absolutely terrifying and I'm one of those folks that thinks that within reason if it's something that terrifies you or you are afraid of, as long as it doesn't hurt you or someone else, that's the very thing you should reach out towards.

"I'd never done a meta movie about myself before. But [the character] really isn't me. It's Tom's version of me, which is a kind of anxiety-ridden, completely hyperactive version of this person named Nicolas Cage or Nic Cage or Nicky Cage."