Nicolas Cage is coming to the Wild West later this year, when director Brett Donowho’s The Old Way hits theaters. As Deadline reports, Saban Films acquired North American and other overseas territories distribution rights for the film, setting the fourth quarter of 2022 as a release window for The Old Way.
The Old Way follows the retired gunslinger Colton Briggs (Cage), who again picks up his pistols when a group of outlaws murders his wife. However, getting his revenge won’t be that easy, as Colton now is the father of a young girl (Ryan Kiera Armstrong). So, to track down the murderer of his wife, the gunslinger decided to take his daughter with him in his quest for revenge. That means that, while The Old Way promises to tell a classic Western revenge story, the film is also shacking up the tropes by turning the hunt for the outlaws into a family business.
The Old Way is the first Western in Cage’s career, but it is not the only one on the horizon. Last year, Cage also filmed Gabe Polsky’s Butcher’s Crossing, based on a novel by the same name by John Williams. In Butcher’s Crossing, Cage plays Miller, a buffalo hunter who crosses paths with a young man trying to connect with nature (Fred Hechinger). So, curiously, Cage is making his debut in Westerns with two films simultaneously, and even more odd is the fact that The Old Way and Butcher’s Crossing Shot back to back last year. Also, it’s no coincidence that Saban Films has acquired the rights of The Old Way, since the distributor had also snatched Butcher’s Crossing last September.
Commenting on the recent The Old Way acquisition, Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley said:
“We always love working with Nicolas and are thrilled to be part of one of his first forays into the Western genre. We couldn’t be happier to share this action-packed film with crime thriller and Western fans alike.”
Last year, Cage also commented on his involvement with not one, but two Westerns after more than 40 years of working in Hollywood. As Cage puts it:
"After 43 years in cinema, I’m only now being invited to the important and storied genre of the Western with both The Old Way and Butcher’s Crossing. Being born and raised in the West, this is another good match and long overdue. I’m excited and compelled by the complex characters of both Briggs and Miller, and to find new ground to play at 57 is indeed galvanizing.”
The Old Way also stars Nick Searcy and Shiloh Fernandez. The film is produced by Donowho, Cage, Sasha Yelaun, Robert Paschall Jr., Johnny Remo, R. Bryan Wright, Micah Haley, and Saturn Films. Executive producers include Joshua Bunting, David Haring, Christian Mercuri, Mehrdad Moayedi, Fred Roos, and writer Carl W. Lucas.
The Old Way comes to theaters and VOD in late 2022.
Unfortunately, there’s still no release date for Butcher’s Crossing.