Nicolas Cage and filmmaker Andrew Niccol will reteam on a sequel to their 2005 cult classic Lord of War — this time, bringing in a new generation of gunrunner. Cage will reprise his role as arms dealer Yuri Orlov in the film, which will be written and directed by Niccol (who played the same role on the oriignal). Joining the pair will be Bill Skarsgård (John Wick Chapter 4), who will be playing Orlov’s son, according to Variety. Vendôme Group is backing the project, which is to be titled Lords of War. The production is set to begin principal photography in the fall.
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According to a synopsis included in the Variety report, Lords of War “finds Orlov (Cage), the world’s most notorious gunrunner, as he discovers that he has a son, Anton (Skarsgård), who is trying to top his dad. Anton is amassing a mercenary army to fight America’s Middle East conflicts. This triggers an intergenerational bitter rivalry, one that pits father and son against each other.”
“There is so much more to explore with these characters,” Niccol said. “Plato said it best – ‘Only the dead have seen the end of war.’ I’m looking forward to spending more time in the company of the charming devil that is Yuri Orlov and now his illegitimate son – who turns out to not be legitimate in any way.”
“The ‘Lord of War’ world has no shortage of ammunition in the possibilities of stories we can tell, and we are very excited to tell yet another one that follows Yuri and Anton’s dangerous journey,” added Vendôme’s Philippe Rousselet.
Niccol is a writer and director whose resume includes mainstream hits like The Truman Show and The Host as well as smaller projects like Good Kill and Anon. He directed many of those projects, although The Truman Show (for which he was nominated for an Oscar) was helmed by Peter Weir.
Per Variety, FilmNation Entertainment will represent the international sales rights and introduce the film at the Cannes Film Festival. CAA Media Finance will handle the domestic rights. Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi are producing for Vendôme Pictures, alongside Cage under his company, Saturn Films. Skarsgård is executive producing.
Cage, one of Hollywood’s most iconoclastic actors, won an Oscar in 1995 for Leaving Las Vegas. More recently, he has appeared as Dracula in Renfield and as a parody version of himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
