The rebirth of Nicolas Cage’s career has taken some incredible and awesome turns as the actor has re-entered the zeitgeist in a plethora of independent roles that show he’s not just good at playing crazy, but in the first trailer for Dream Scenario Cage is entering a whole new level of prominence as his character, a doughty professor, begins appearing in everyone’s dreams. The film, from A24, seems to be playing not just with Cage’s fantastic performance but the very strange can of fame that the actor holds.
Believe it or not, this is the first time that Cage has worked on an A24 film, which seems weird given his late-career renaissance has involved a slew of films that sure feel like A24 movies. The indie studio — known for quirky hits, highbrow horror, and Oscar fare — seems like a perfect home for Cage, and yet Dream Scenario is the first time he’s led a movie for them. Coming from writer/director Kristoffer Borgli, the movie tells the story of  Paul Matthews (Cage), who becomes world-famous when everyone starts seeing him in their dreams. The movie is a comedy at its heart but as the trailer, which you can see below, shows things start taking a darker turn as Paul begins reveling in his newfound fame and his role in people’s dreams.
Julianne Nicholson, Michael Cera, Tim Meadows, Dylan Gelula, and Dylan Baker also star in the movie, which gives off slight horror vibes alongside its comedic tones. That blending of genre might make more sense when you realize that Ari Aster (Beau is Afraid) is one of the executive producers of Dream Scenario. As the quotes in the trailer show, the film has already had screenings at the Toronto International Film Festival where it got rave reviews, setting up another possible Oscar-hopeful for A24 and maybe even a return for Cage to the Best Actor category, his first since 2003’s Adaptation.
Dream Scenario will be released on November 10.
