Cannes: Nicolas Cage, Bill Skarsgard Nab Leads in Sequel ‘Lords of War’

Nicolas Cage and Bill Skarsgard are set to star in Lords of War, the sequel to Lord of War that reunites CODA producer Vendome Pictures with director Andrew Niccol.

Niccol will write and direct the sequel to his 2005 crime thriller Lord of War, with Cage reprising his role as arms dealer Yuri Orlov, and Skarsgard on board to play his son. In Lords of War, Orlov discovers he has a son, Anton, who is trying to top his father’s wrongs rather than stop them as he launches a mercenary army to fight America’s Middle East conflicts.

The sequel will shoot in fall 2023, with FilmNation Entertainment representing the international sales rights starting at the Cannes Film Market. CAA Media Finance will handle the domestic rights.

Philippe Rousselet and Fabrice Gianfermi, who produced the original, are returning in the same role for Lords of War under their Vendome Pictures banner, with Cage also producing via his Saturn Films banner. Skarsgard is executive producing.

“There is so much more to explore with these characters. Plato said it best — ‘Only the dead have seen the end of war.’ I’m looking forward to spending more time in the company of the charming devil that is Yuri Orlov and now his illegitimate son — who turns out to not be legitimate in any way,” director Niccol said in a statement.

Cage earned an Oscar for his role in Leaving Las Vegas. His recent movie credits include The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent and Pig. Skarsgard most recently starred in John Wick: Chapter 4, alongside Keanu Reeves.

Niccol wrote the screenplay for The Truman Show, which landed him an Oscar nomination, before directing Anon, starring Clive Owen and Amanda Seyfried; Good Kill, starring Ethan Hawke, January Jones and Zoe Kravitz; and The Host, led by Saoirse Ronan.

Vendome’s Rousselet added in his own statement: “The Lord of War world has no shortage of ammunition in the possibilities of stories we can tell, and we are very excited to tell yet another one that follows Yuri and Anton’s dangerous journey.”

Vendome produced the 2022 Oscar best picture winner CODA, directed by Siân Heder and starring Emilia Jones, Marlee Matlin, Troy Kotsur, Daniel Durant and Eugenio Derbez. 

Niccol is repped by CAA. Cage is repped by WME and Stride Management. Skarsgard is represented by WME and Magnolia Entertainment.