The 007 casting race can keep its long line of handsome contenders; Nicolas Cage has already crossed the finish line backwards, martini in hand. In Fortitude, Cage is set to play Dusko Popov, the real-life spy whose exploits helped inspire James Bond. After prancing around New York in a Spider-Man suit and solving crimes with detective instincts, Cage returns to sleuthing with less noir gloom and considerably more chaos.

That makes Fortitude especially delicious: Nicolas Cage gets to play the man behind the myth while making the legend entirely his own.

Nicolas Cage has apparently decided that playing James Bond would be too ordinary, so he has gone after the man who inspired him instead. Fortitude introduces Cage as Dusko Popov, the suave double agent whose exploits helped shape 007. The trailer serves tuxedos, martinis and enough Cage-flavored mischief to make espionage look positively overdressed.

Simon West directs this stylishly irreverent caper, which revolves around an elaborate deception involving fake armies, inflatable tanks and double agents. The trailer wisely lets Nicolas Cage enjoy every absurd inch of it, balancing Popov’s polished spy persona with the glorious unpredictability Cage brings to the screen. Somewhere, subtlety is filing a missing-person report.

Other than the obviously interesting Fortitude trailer, there is the supporting ensemble, featuring Matthew Goode, Ed Skrein, Ben Kingsley, Alice Eve, Art Malik and Michael Sheen. Art Malik portraying Ian Fleming gives the whole affair an especially cheeky twist, considering Popov became part of the inspiration for James Bond. Nicolas Cage, meanwhile, appears perfectly content turning that historical footnote into his personal playground.

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As Nicolas Cage turns toward human-eating horror, it feels only right to take one last martini-fueled detour into his spy era and the real-life man who inspired James Bond.

Dusko Popov was apparently James Bond before James Bond had even been dressed for dinner. Wealthy, multilingual, charming and gloriously reckless, Popov lived among luxury hotels, fast cars, beautiful women and dangerous assignments, giving Ian Fleming an irresistible real-life template. Fleming witnessed Popov’s audacious lifestyle firsthand, then transformed those details into the legendary 007 persona.

The connection became delicious at Casino Estoril, where Popov wagered $50,000 to rattle an opponent, an episode Fleming reworked for Casino Royale. Popov’s double games, confidence, and appetite for danger all found echoes in Bond, while his heavy drinking helped shape the character. Decades later, Nicolas Cage gets to play that original in Fortitude.

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Are you ready to see Nicolas Cage as Dusko Popov? Let us know in the comments!