Nic Cage Chooses 'Rabbit' Over 'Hornet'

Nicolas Cage, who was rumored to be the villain in the upcoming Green Hornet movie, has officially walked away from the project in favor of something called The Hungry Rabbit Jumps, which sounds like the sort of code spies use to make sure they're dealing with the right contact. First, the details on that film: It's a revenge thriller directed by Roger Donaldson. Interestingly, Tobey Maguire, who is producing through his cleverly named Maguire Entertainment brand, was going to star in the film about a year, a year-and-a-half ago when he picked up the script by Robert Tannen. Cage will play a man shellshocked by the violent murder of his wife and joins The Hair Club for Men...I mean, an underground vigilante organization. So that part of the premise might be OK. Sounds like a bloodbath to me. Now, on to The Green Hornet: Without Cage as the mobster in the middle, Seth Rogen has to find a new bad guy. Frankly, there wasn't much to love about the Cage pick in the first place, so maybe this can be improved upon. Nic had never signed anything - which is strange given the number of contracts he's pocketed in the past few months - so there's no big ordeal for the lawyers. It will be tricky, though, because the movie is already filming and has pushed back its release date a couple times already. The Green Hornet simply can't afford another delay, but it can afford even less to screw up the villain (or screw it up twice, if you believe Cage was a bad choice). Tough times ahead for Seth Rogen, I guess. Hungry Rabbit Jumps begins filming in January in New Orleans.