John Madden (Photo by Robert B. Stanton/NFLPhotoLibrary)

One of the most accomplished and beloved action movie stars of his generation will play John Madden in an upcoming biopic of the NFL legend.

David O’Russell, the film’s director, released a statement announcing that Face/Off and The Rock star Nicolas Cage will play John Madden in the biopic titled “Madden”, Per Borys Kit of The Hollywood Reporter:

“Nicolas Cage, one of our greatest and most original actors, will portray the best of the American spirit of originality, fun, and determination in which anything is possible as beloved national legend John Madden. Together with the ferocious style, focus, and inspired individualism of Al Davis, owner of the underdog Oakland Raiders, the feature will be about the joy, humanity and genius that was John Madden in a wildly inventive, cool world of the 1970s.”

Social media had all sorts of interesting things to say following the announcement of Nicolas Cage portraying the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the highly-anticipated film:

https://twitter.com/Maybe_YesSir/status/1824227196267037085

John Madden is one of the most influential figures in NFL history, having coached the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978. He led the Raiders to a 1967 AFL championship and a Super Bowl 11 victory.

After coaching, Madden enjoyed an illustrious career as an NFL commentator. He won 16 Sports Emmy Awards and worked for NBC, CBS, FOX, and ABC during his 30 years in the broadcast booth.

And of course, Madden was also a driving force behind the rise of the beloved EA Sports “Madden NFL” video game series. The video game franchise continues to use the name of John Madden, who passed away at the age of 85 on Dec. 28, 2021.

The first video game of the installment, “John Madden Football” was released in 1988. The franchise has sold more than 130 million copies since its inception.

Nicolas Cage Is A Compelling Choice For John Madden Role

Cage emerged as one of the biggest action stars of the ’90s thanks to his “big three” action films: The Rock, Face/Off and Con Air.

Cage was the protagonist in The Rock and Con Air. He and John Travolta starred in dual roles in Face/Off, flipping between the antagonist and protagonist roles. Now 60 years of age, Cage has cut back on blockbuster films and usually stars in low-budget projects these days.

So yes, it’ll be awfully interesting to see how this former action star portrays the legendary John Madden.