Not long ago we found out here that Nic Cage was set to star in a prequel version of the Brian De Palma film The Untouchables called The Untouchables: Capone Rising. Nic, was supposed to play young version of Al Capone. That lasted about two weeks.
Now Variety says negotiations have fallen through and he’s off the project. Scheduling issues are to blame, which comes as no surprise when you consider that Cage is currently attached to no fewer than five films in varying stages of pre-production. At some point, at least one of them is going to want him to actually show up on set.
What this means for De Palma’s Capone Rising is unknown. They’ll probably just recast. In the 1987 original, the part was played by Robert De Niro. Finding a young De Niro equivalent is a pretty tall order. Even though Cage is out, it looks like Gerard Butler is already set to join the cast, playing Jimmy Malone, the character portrayed by Sean Connery in the first film.
