A sequel to Nicolas Cage’s arms-trafficking drama a sadistic, Satanic serial killer in Longlegs, but he also gave a hilariously self-deprecating performance as a skewed, fictionalized version of himself in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.

There are a lot of Nicolas Cage movies that deserve a sequel. It would be great to see him revisit some of his funniest comedic roles, and there are a few of his classic action movies from the ‘90s that are due for a legacy sequel. The sequel to Lord of War certainly sounds intriguing, but is it really the best sequel for Cage to make right now? Maybe there are other franchises he should be focusing on instead.

Nicolas Cage's Lord Of War Is Getting A Sequel

Lords Of War Is Set To Begin Shooting Next Year

Nicolas Cage and Jared Leto against an American flag in Lord of War

A sequel to Cage’s crime drama Lord of War, titled Lords of War, has been in development for a couple of years. It was supposed to begin filming in the fall of 2023, but it missed that date. Although it seemed to have vanished into the bowels of development hell, Bill Skarsgård has recently provided a promidate on Lords of War. Cage is set to reprise his role as Ukrainian-American international arms trafficker Yuri Orlov, while Skarsgård is set to co-star as Orlov’s son (as well as serving as an executive producer).

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Lord Of War True Story: Who Nicolas Cage's Character Is Based On

Lord of War stars Nicolas Cage as the international gunrunner Yuri Orlov. While Orlov is fictional, he's based on a real person - Viktor Bout.

Skarsgård has revealed that Lords of War is expected to shoot sometime next year. He’s excited to work alongside Cage, and he promises that the sequel will be just as bleak, challenging, and grimly satirical as the original. Lord of War is best ed for its jaw-dropping opening sequence, in which the camera follows a bullet all the way from the manufacturing process into the head of a child soldier. With its darkly comedic tone and energetic editing, Lord of War essentially does for the arms-trafficking industry what Goodfellas did for the mafia.

There Are Plenty Of Nicolas Cage Sequels I'd Like To See Before Lord Of War

National Treasure 3, For Starters

Lords of War sounds pretty exciting; it’ll be interesting to see Cage acting alongside Skarsgård in a father-son, mentor-mentee dynamic, and the world’s approach to warfare has changed a lot since the original film was released. But there are a bunch of other sequels to Cage’s movies that I’d rather see than a Lord of War follow-up. First and foremost, it’s about time Cage made National Treasure 3. The action-adventure series deftly blends the pulpy escapism of Uncharted and Indiana Jones with the mysteries of American history, and a threequel is long overdue.

Throughout his career, Nicolas Cage has won an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Golden Globe Award.

I’d love to see a spinoff centered on Cage’s Kick-Ass character Big Daddy, and I’d love to see a third Croods movie. It would be fun to see a sequel to The Rock following up on Dr. Stanley Goodspeed’s recovery of the microfilm seen in the film’s ending. This time, Cage could take on the Sean Connery role as the grizzled veteran mentoring the fresh-faced hotshot. A sequel to Face/Off has been stuck in development hell for a few years; I’d rather they finally figure that out than move on to a Lord of War sequel.

Why A Lord Of War Sequel Could Actually Work

Its Themes Are Sadly Still Relevant

Nicolas Cage sits with a machine gun in Lord of War

While there are other Cage sequels I’d rather see, a Lord of War sequel is ittedly a pretty good idea. The world has changed a lot in the 20 years since the first one was released, and the movie’s political themes are sadly still relevant today. Lord of War is all about the unscrupulous business tycoons that profit from the death and destruction of warfare. Between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and Israel’s conflict with Palestine, there’s a lot of war happening around the world right now, and a lot of people making money from arms deals.

Lord of War is all about the unscrupulous business tycoons that profit from the death and destruction of warfare.

The first Lord of War movie reflected attitudes surrounding the then-ongoing Iraq War. If Lords of War similarly reflects the contemporary geopolitical climate, then it could really make a case for its own existence. It can’t just rehash all the points made in the first film; it has to examine how the arms industry has changed since then. Lord of War is a powerful movie, but it’s not perfect — the sequel can rectify those flaws with stronger character development and a clearer moral com.

Lord of War Main Movie Poster

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Lord of War
Release Date
September 16, 2005
Runtime
122 Minutes
Director
Andrew Niccol

WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming

Loosely based on various true stories surrounding various real-life weapons smugglers, Lord of War is a crime drama film starring Nicolas Cage as Yuri Orlov, an arms dealer who enters the business after a deadly moment in his youth, triggering his fascination with the trade. The film follows Orlov's life and explores the dangers and chaos of the illegal arms market.

Writers
Andrew Niccol