Nicolas Cage & Con Air Director Reuniting After 28 Years For New Spy Thriller

28 years after making one of the most iconic action films of the ‘90s, Con Air’s Nicolas Cage and Simon West are reuniting for the new spy thriller Forтιтude, whose cast includes another Oscar-winning actor.

Cage won his own Best Actor Oscar for 1995’s heavy drama Leaving Las Vegas. He returned to Sin City two years later as Cameron Poe in the insane high-concept prison-plane action extravaganza Con Air, a big hit at the box office with a $101 million domestic gross ($248.8 million adjusted for inflation).

Nearly three decades after Con Air, and 13 years after their collaboration on Stolen, Cage and West are again teaming for the new World War 2 action-thriller Forтιтude (via ᴅᴇᴀᴅline). Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley joins Cage in the cast, along with Ed Skrein, Matthew Goode, Alice Eve, Michael Sheen, and Lukas Haas.

Producer Simon Afram released a statement praising the cast while hyping West’s direction:

“We are excited to bring together such a remarkable ensemble,” said producer Simon Afram. “Their chemistry and depth, paired with West’s direction, elevate this story into something truly gripping and unforgettable.”

What This Means For Cage And West

Cage has not been shy about admitting that Con Air is completely absurd, relating back in 2023 how he personally added to the film’s ridiculousness by coming up with the now-iconic line “Put the bunny back in the box,” a quip designed to mock famous action movie one-liners (via Vanity Fair):

It’s absurdity at its finest, but again, if you sell it [laughs] with genuine emotion, and real determination, like this is the most serious thing in the world — and it is, because he has to give it to his daughter who he hasn’t seen in six years. It’s serious, and he means it, but it’s ridiculous and that’s what I love about it.

West’s direction combined with Cage’s script-tweaking, and super-macho acting, to push Con Air from mere action movie fluff into the realm of the sublimely silly. 28 years later, the pair will try something different, making not a cartoonishly exaggerated action film, but a serious spy thriller based on real events.

Forтιтude’s logline teases the story of British Army officers Dudley Clarke and Thomas Argyll “Tar” Robertson, who “deployed an elaborate web of deception campaigns including ficтιтious armies, fake military equipment and a network of double agents to mislead Nazi Intelligence.”

Dudley Clarke was previously played by Dominic West on the series SAS: Rogue Heroes.

Among the film’s characters is a playboy named Dusko Popov, a real-life spy whose exploits allegedly inspired Ian Fleming’s James Bond.

Our Take On West And Cage’s Con Air Reunion

Cage and West would ideally have reunited to make Con Air 2, but if they can’t bring back Cameron Poe for one more belated adventure, having the actor-director duo team up for an intriguing World War 2 thriller based on real spy exploits is perhaps the next-best thing.

While Forтιтude sounds like the stuff of heavy war-movie action, there is no guarantee that West will chart a straightforward dramatic course with the story. Given the decidedly humorous bent of most West films, the movie might turn out closer to Guy Ritchie’s Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare than something like Bridge of Spies.

It’s yet to be seen if any of the old Con Air bunny-in-the-box ridiculousness will find its way into Forтιтude, or if West and Cage will keep a straight-face as they bring a fascinating World War 2 espionage tale to the screen.