Nicolas Cage hunts buffalo and loses his mind in ‘Butcher’s Crossing’ trailer

Oscar winner Nicolas Cage bluntly declares his ambition to kill as many buffalo as possible (aside from just being bald) in the trailer for Butcher Crossingwhich EW can exclusively reveal.

Director Gabe Polsky’s film, which had its world premiere at last year’s Toronto Film Festival, stars the Renfield And National treasure actor as an obsessive hunter named Miller. Knowing of a remote valley in the Colorado Rockies teeming with thousands of buffalo, Miller convinces a young Harvard dropout named Will Andrews, played by Fred Hechinger, to finance what turns out to be an extremely dangerous trip.

“This film has been many years in the making, and after an extremely difficult shoot and a world premiere at TIFF, I am so excited that now is the time for the world to see it,” Polsky said in an exclusive statement provided at EW. “Audiences will experience a harrowing journey and an enigmatic performance from Nicolas Cage that explores the nature of ambition – the powerful and destructive energy that has shaped America and our planet.”

Saban Films Nicolas Cage as Miller in “Butcher’s Crossing”

While attending the film’s premiere at TIFF in 2022, Cage revealed that his performance was partly inspired by a certain NBA megastar. “Gabe Polsky wanted me to shave my head because he was thinking about Michael Jordan,” the actor told EW at the time. “Michael Jordan on the court, and this need to win. Isn’t that in Miller? The need to score, to win. I started thinking about it.”

Cage admitted that his look also owed a bit to Marlon Brando’s Colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse now. “There’s a sort of vision of Joseph Conrad and Kurtz through Coppola’s vision. Apocalypse now shaved-head look,” Cage said. “It kind of works. It merges. It could be both. Michael Jordan might meet Marlon Brando in Apocalypse now“.

The cast of Butcher Crossing also includes Rachel Keller, Xander Berkeley, Jeremy Bobb and Paul Raci. The film will be released theatrically through Saban Films nationwide on October 20.

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