Nicolas Cage (Renfield) and writer-director Andrew Niccol (Anon) will reteam with Vendôme Pictures, the Academy Award winning studio behind CODA, on Lords of War — a sequel to the 2005 crime thriller Lord of War, which starred Cage as Yuri Orlov, a composite character based on numerous arms dealers.
Bill Skarsgård (John Wick: Chapter 4) is also on board to star as Orlov’s son, with FilmNation Entertainment to rep international sales and introduce the film at Cannes, and CAA Media Finance to handle domestic rights.
In Lords of War, Yuri Orlov (Cage), the world’s most notorious gunrunner, discovers he has a son, Anton (Skarsgård), who isn’t trying to right his father’s wrongs — he’s trying to top them. Not only selling guns but the “trigger pullers” too, Anton is amassing a mercenary army to fight America’s Middle East conflicts. This is the story of Yuri and Anton’s bitter rivalry — even at odds over the same woman. Who will prevail when father and son go to war?
Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi (CODA, Lord of War) are returning to produce under their Vendôme Pictures banner, with Cage for Saturn Films. Skarsgård will serve as exec producer on the film heading into production this fall.
Said Niccol in a statement on Lords of War, “There is so much more to explore with these characters. 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.”
Added Vendôme’s Rousselet, “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.”
Perhaps best known for his The Truman Show screenplay, which landed him an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA in 1999, Niccol in the following years went on to direct his own screenplays with credits including the sci-fi crime pic Anon starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried; the drone pilot thriller Good Kill starring Ethan Hawke, January Jones and Zoe Kravitz; the sci-fi thriller The Host, based on Stephenie Meyer’s novel, which starred Saoirse Ronan; the sci-fi actioner In Time starring Justin Timberlake and Amanda Seyfried; and Lord of War, which also starred Ethan Hawke and Jared Leto.
Academy Award winner Cage can currently be seen starring as Dracula in Universal’s horror comedy Renfield, directed by Chris McKay, which hit theaters April 14th. Other recent credits for the actor include Lionsgate’s action comedy The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, in which he starred opposite Pedro Pascal as a version of himself, and Michael Sarnoski’s Independent Spirit Award winner, Pig.
Skarsgård most recently starred opposite Keanu Reeves in John Wick: Chapter 4, also starring opposite Georgina Campbell in 20th Century Studios’ acclaimed horror pic Barbarian from filmmaker Zach Cregger. He’s in post on director Rupert Sanders’ reimagining of The Crow and is currently shooting Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu for Focus Features, which has him sharing the screen with Nicholas Hoult, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Willem Dafoe, Lily-Rose Depp, Emma Corrin and more.
Following its hugely successful run with Best Picture Oscar winner CODA, Vendôme partnered with Pathé and the Tony Award-winning Deaf West Theatre to develop a stage musical adaptation of the film. Also coming up for the production company is the film Ibelin on famed Norwegian gamer Mats Steen, to be directed by Morten Tyldum.
Niccol is repped by CAA and Bloom Hergott Diemer; Cage by WME, Stride Management and Goodman, Genow, Schenkman; and Skarsgård by WME, Magnolia Entertainment and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.