Full MADDEN Trailer Unleashes Nicolas Cage as Football Legend John Madden
Nicolas Cage playing John Madden is such great casting, and the full trailer for Amazon MGM Studios’ Madden gives us our best look yet at what that combination has produced.
The sports comedy tells the true story of Madden’s journey from Super Bowl-winning Oakland Raiders head coach to the larger-than-life football personality who helped create one of the biggest sports video game franchises ever made.
Cage is joined by a pretty wild collection of talent. Christian Bale plays Raiders owner Al Davis, Kathryn Hahn is Virginia Madden, John Mulaney plays Electronic Arts founder Trip Hawkins, and Joel Murray takes on the role of Madden’s longtime broadcasting partner Pat Summerall. Sienna Miller and Shane Gillis also appear.
We got our first teaser for the movie last year, but the full trailer offers a much better idea of the story and its comedic approach. Cage looks like he’s having a great time inhabiting Madden’s massive personality, while Bale as Davis is another casting choice that should be fun to watch play out.
The official description reads: "There is only one John Madden.” Inspired by a true story. After being forced into retirement by the NFL's Oakland Raiders, fiery former NFL head coach John Madden (Cage) then teams up with a mild-mannered Harvard programmer to rewrite his fading legacy by building the world's first football video game.
That game would eventually become Madden NFL, but it started life as John Madden Football. The first version arrived in 1988 for MS-DOS and Apple II before the franchise expanded throughout the 1990s and grew into a gaming institution.
The movie comes from David O. Russell, whose directing credits include The Fighter, Silver Linings Playbook, American Hustle, Joy, and Amsterdam. Russell co-wrote the screenplay with Cambron Clark.
Russell has also faced longstanding controversy over his conduct toward actors and crew members during previous productions.
The movie appears to be skipping the festival circuit and theatrical release in favor of a streaming debut, which is a shame.
Judging by the trailer, this looks like the kind of strange sports biopic with Cage going all-in as one of football’s most recognizable personalities.
The movie is headed straight to Prime Video on November 18th, just in time for Thanksgiving 2026.