Nicolas Cage Reveals Why He Had to Play ‘Longlegs’ in Follow-up: “Influenced by My Mom”

The mystery and unsettling nature surrounding the marketing for Osgood Perkins’ film, Longlegs, is a key reason why the movie was such a hit at the box office. Starring Maika Monroe and Nicolas Cage, the film thrived on how little it revealed leading up to release. Not much was known about the story, and even less was known about the capacity of Cage’s role. The acclaimed actor’s attachment to the smaller production distributed by Neon helped to generate hype, with his unsettling appearance not being revealed until late in the film. Now, the actor is returning to the role, with his reasons for a comeback being typically unconventional.

While being interviewed at the red carpet premiere for the upcoming Prime Video series Spider-Noir, Cage briefly spoke about the upcoming Longlegs follow-up film. The unexpected announcement of another Longlegs movie from Osgood Perkins was welcome, with Cage’s return being even more of a surprise, given his fate at the end of the original. Plot details for the movie are being kept under wraps, though the reasoning for Cage’s return isn’t. As it turns out, it was the deeply personal inspiration for the actor’s performance that led to him wanting to come back:

“I guess you could say I have the pride of ownership of that character. That character is personal to me because I was influenced by my mom — not that my mom was crazy like that, she wasn’t satanic, but I don’t want someone else playing my mom, so if they’re going to do it, you’re doing it with me.”

This is not the first time Cage has compared the satanic serial killer to his own mother, with Cage’s creative ownership over the character being what ultimately led to him wanting to continue portraying the character. Whether Perkins next Longlegs film takes place long before or after the original is currently unknown, but interestingly, this next chapter of the story won’t be handled by Perkins’ frequent collaborator Neon. Instead, the director took the film to Paramount, a decision that Cage commented on with some uncertainty, given the recent change of leadership within the company as well as its ongoing acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery:

“I don’t know what the story is, and I have not met the new Paramount. I have worked with the old Paramount; my whole family has had a lot of projects there, so to me there’s really a lot of history there — Face/Off, The Godfather. I hope that whatever happens, they have the same regard for movies and filmmakers.”

It’s hard to believe that Perkins would take a sequel to Longlegs to a distributor that wouldn’t let him express his creative vision. In any case, it’s exciting to see Cage continue his creative partnership with the horror filmmaker, and be given a bigger platform and possibly bigger budget for the production. The new Longlegs film is currently slated for release in January 2028, and it seems that, much like with the first movie, Perkins and Cage are keeping story details close to the chest.

Release Date

July 12, 2024

Runtime

101 Minutes