Honestly, some people just cannot make up their minds. No sooner are Deadline reporting that Cage has ditched Trespass, disappeared on holiday and no-one can find him, than suddenly we hear from them again this morning that he is back on board.
We reported here that Cage had changed his mind a few weeks ago about which role he wanted to play, preferring the villain role to that of husband to Nicole Kidman’s wife, before pulling out completely late last week. Well, not only is Cage back, he is also back as the husband character, with Cam Gigandet (Twilight, Pandorum, Priest) now playing the leader of the kidnappers.
Although Trespass would have been far from the first film in history to have had to recast at the last minute, it would still have been an unpleasant prospect and one likely to have generated unwelcome negative buzz before the film even had a chance to get out of the blocks.
Deadline claim that Cage’s holiday gave him a chance to recharge his batteries after his draining promotional duties on The Sorceror’s Apprentice and also reflect on the value of his relationships with both director Joel Schumacher (with whom Cage worked on 8mm) and financier Avi Lerner, who helped support Bad Lieutenant and Cage’s upcoming Drive Angry. Filming now starts on 30th August, a couple of weeks later than originally scheduled, however all concerned will no doubt be relieved to at least have their biggest star back on board.
If Cage decides within the next few weeks that he wants to play Kidman’s role instead, we’ll be sure to let you know.
