John Madden‘s life and career will be brought to the big screen with Amazon’s upcoming sports biopic Madden. Oscar-winning actor Nicolas Cage will portray the late NFL coach, and fellow esteemed actor Christian Bale will play late NFL executive Al Davis.
“The film follows Madden’s remarkable journey — from his Super Bowl-winning partnership with Al Davis and the Raiders, to creating Madden NFL, and becoming one of the most iconic voices in football history,” Amazon MGM Studios explained in a release.
The studio also unveiled the first look at the movie, which displays Nicolas and Christian in character and showing off Super Bowl rings to the camera.
Hollywood Life has all the details we know so far about Madden below.
Who Is John Madden?
John was a a coach and commentator for the NFL. He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978. He rose to prominence when he led the team to its first Super Bowl title.
After he died in December 2021 at the age of 85, John was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2006. By 2024, John still held the most wins – 103 to be exact – as head coach in Raiders history.
John is survived by his two sons, Joseph and Michael, whom he shared with wife Virginia.
Who Is in the Madden Movie Cast?
Aside from Nicolas and Christian, the rest of the main cast of Madden features John Mulaney as entrepreneur Trip Hawkins, Kathryn Hahn as Virginia Madden and Sienna Miller as sports franchise owner Carol Davis.
Previously, it was reported that Will Ferrell would play John, then Hugh Jackman was reported to be in talks for the role. Tom Hanks was also rumored to be in negotiations to play Al, but Nicolas and Christian were eventually cast.
Esteemed filmmaker David O. Russell is directing Madden. He co-wrote the screenplay along with Cambron Clark. David previously directed several hit movies, including Silver Linings Playbook and American Hustle.
Madden Movie Release Date
At the time of publication, Madden does not have an official release date, though principal photography for the production began in April 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia. Sports fans can likely expect the film to be released sometime in 2026 depending on when production wraps.
