July 14 (UPI) -- Nicolas Cage says he will no longer star in Amazon's Tiger King series.
The 57-year-old actor told Variety that the moment has passed for him to play Joe Exotic, a big cat breeder and convicted felon, in the show.
"We should clear the record," Cage said. "I read two excellent scripts, which I did think were excellent, but I think Amazon ultimately felt that it was material that had become past tense because it took so long for it to come together."
"They felt at one point that it was lightning in a bottle, but that point has since faded into the distance and it's no longer relevant," he added.
The Amazon series is based on the Texas Monthly article "Joe Exotic: A Dark Journey Into the World of a Man Gone Wild" by Leif Reigstad. Netflix previously released the documentary Tiger King about Exotic in March 2020.
Sources said the Amazon series, produced by Imagine and CBS Studios, may be shopped to other outlets.
Peacock is developing its own Tiger King series starring John Cameron Mitchell and Kate McKinnon. The show is based on Season 2 of the Wondery podcast Over My Dead Body from Robert Moor.
Cage will next star in the thriller drama Pig, which opens in theaters Friday. He will also play a fictionalized version of himself in the upcoming film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.