Nicolas Cage stars as Nick Cage in the first Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent trailer

UPDATE: Well that didn’t take long. Fresh off of Lionsgate’s massive image dump for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent comes the first full trailer for this very meta Nicolas Cage opus, starring the iconic Cage as a version of himself. This is actually a different, slightly less outrageously profane trailer than the awesome one we saw at CinemaCon a few months back. It looks like a total blast of Cage-inspired lunacy.

Is the world ready to find out what happens when Nicolas Cage plays “Nick Cage” in his upcoming comedy thriller The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent? I certainly hope so. Known to many as one of the boldest actors in Hollywood, Nicholas Cage has carved out a bizarre niche after starring in films like Mandy, Color Out of Space, and Prisoners of the Ghostland. Now, he’s about to bring meta to a whole new level, and I am here for it. Steel yourselves for today’s Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent images, which are sure to make you feel the rage of the Cage.

“Creatively unfulfilled and facing financial ruin, the fictionalized version of Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan (Pedro Pascal),” reads the official description. “Things take a wildly unexpected turn when Cage is recruited by a CIA operative (Tiffany Haddish) and forced to live up to his own legend, channeling his most iconic and beloved on-screen characters in order to save himself and his loved ones. With a career built for this very moment, the seminal award-winning actor must take on the role of a lifetime: Nicolas Cage.”

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which will debut in theaters on April 22, 2022, also stars Pedro Pascal, Sharon Horgan, Ike Barinholtz, Alessandra Mastronardi, Jacob Scipio, Lily Sheen, Neil Patrick Harris, and Tiffany Haddish.

You can check out the new Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent images below, featuring Nicolas Cage and Pedro Pascal in various states of euphoria as well as distress. I’m not kidding. Check out the look on Pascal’s face in that photo of him and Cage on the stairs. That’s a puss if I ever saw one. Pascal plays a crime boss and Cage superfan named Javi in the film, which could help explain his wide range of emotions in the new pics.

While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Cage explained his approach to playing both “Nick” and “Nicky,” a younger, Wild at Heart-era version of the actor and figment of his imagination. “He’s got the lanky long hair; he’s just constantly riding Nick about his career choices,” says Cage. “I wasn’t too excited about the idea of playing myself, but when Tom sent me this script, Nicky reminded me a little of Jerry Lewis’ Buddy Love in The Nutty Professor. I always admired what he did with that movie. For me, Nicky steals the show.”

The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is without a doubt one of my most anticipated films of 2022. I unapologetically love Nic Cage, and the concept for this movie sounds about as strange as the actor himself. Bring it on!