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Published Sep 24, 2026, 1:15 PM EDT

Elijah is a freelance news writer at Polygon. He was an associate editor at The A.V. Club and Paste, and has been featured in outlets like Game Informer, Fanbyte, Unwinnable, and more. He loves media in all forms, from fighting games and horror flicks to slow cinema and visual novels. He's from the Greater Boston area.

Nic Cage is hamming it up as the football great

Image: Amazon Prime Video

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Nicolas Cage strikes again. One of Hollywood's most prolific actors stars in a new biopic about John Madden, the football coach-turned-commentator who became the face of one of the biggest video game series ever. Prime Video just released the film’s first trailer, showing a fully transformed Cage.

The movie will cover each major stage of Madden’s life: his coaching career, his time as a commentator, and, finally, his involvement in the Madden video game series. As the trailer touches on, Madden is often considered one of the greatest NFL coaches of all time. He has the highest winning percentage among NFL head coaches who coached at least 100 games, with 112 wins, 39 losses, and seven ties for a 73.1% win percentage. He coached the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, leading the team to its first Super Bowl win in January 1977. He retired in 1979 due to health issues and burnout.

Shortly after, Madden joined CBS as a color commentator for NFL telecasts, where he was similarly successful and won 16 Sports Emmy Awards. He was known for breaking down football in an easy-to-digest way and remains widely credited with helping expand the sport's audience and appeal. The coach often went off on hilarious tangents, like when he discovered a hot dog conspiracy during a 1995 Seahawks preseason game.

Despite his impressive career on the field and in the booth, Madden is probably best known for EA’s video game series. He not only lent his name and likeness to the game, but also his football knowledge, so much so that he was credited as a designer on John Madden Football, which was released in 1988.

Who is working on Madden?

Beyond Nic Cage, the film stars Christian Bale as Al Davis, Kathryn Hahn as John’s wife Virginia, and John Mulaney as Trip Hawkins. David O. Russell, the award-winning filmmaker behind Silver Linings Playbook, Three Kings, and American Hustle, is directing the movie. While Russell has been nominated for several Academy Awards, Golden Globes, and BAFTAs, he’s become a somewhat infamous figure in Hollywood due to alleged verbal abuse on set. Several members of Madden’s cast reportedly walked off during filming over Russell’s use of the n-word. The movie will also feature controversial comedian Shane Gillis, who was kicked off Saturday Night Live over his use of ethnic slurs.

Amazon is releasing the film straight to Prime Video on Nov. 18, 2026.