Borat director Larry Charles has tapped Nicolas Cage to lead his latest satire, Army of One, which will see the actor play an average Joe who attempts to hunt down Osama Bin Laden on his lonesome.
Loosely inspired on real events, Charles’ latest draws from the story of one Gary Faulkner, a blue-collar construction worker who took it upon himself to assassinate who many considered to be one of the most dangerous men in the world at the time. Such a journey saw Faulkner attempt to sneak into Afghanistan and Pakistan on multiple occasions, armed with only a sword to stop the al-Qaeda leader in his tracks before his ultimate demise at the hand of the US army in May of 2011.
On paper, it’s a bonkers premise that could just work thanks to the touch of Charles. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Army of One will retain the semi-improvised approach of the director’s previous work. Plus, with Cage on board to play the loosest of loose cannons, the film could fall into place rather well. Rajiv Joseph and Scott Rothman have signed on for script duties, though outside of Cage, there is no more news regarding casting.
In tandem with today’s announcement, Bob Weinstein of The Weinstein Company had the following to say on Charles’ upcoming satire.
“For many years I’ve been a fan of Larry Charles, from his work on Seinfeld, to Borat, Bruno and most recently The Dictator. I’m thrilled to be in business with him and look forward to working with him on this fascinating story. The plan for the movie would be an end of 2015 release.”
We’ll learn much more about Nicolas Cage’s Army of One closer to the time, but for now, you can share your thoughts on Larry Charles’ latest in the comments section below.