Prime Video has chosen the most American stage possible to launch the first teaser of Maddenthe biopic by David O. Russell dedicated to one of the most iconic figures in American sports and entertainment.
Nicolas Cagealmost unrecognizable and magnetic, takes on the role of John Madden, legendary coach, television commentator and eternal face and eternal face of the video game that bears his name.
A surgical marketing move but also a symbolic gesture. In fact, Madden will be released on Thanksgiving Day 2026, as it couldn’t be more coherent. In fact, it was John Madden himself, together with Pat Summerall, who transformed the Thanksgiving Game into a national ritualwhich combined football with folklore.
A Cage in a state of grace
In the short but very dense teaser, Cage shows off a overwhelming physical presence. The aesthetic transformation is remarkable, from the change in posture to the energy imprinted in every movement. Other than a celebratory holy card, his Madden is a loud, ingenious, often excessive man.
Next to him there’s Christian Bale as Al Davisthe owner of the Raiders, who dismisses the meaning of the film with a joke destined to go viral: “There’s only one Madden. They haven’t made another one.”
Russell starts right from here, from the Raiders’ ride to the 1977 Super Bowl, a sporting feat that today seems mythological. The film also chronicles Madden’s unlikely metamorphosis from winning coach to global pop icon.
From the field to the controller
The narrative heart of Madden is the genesis of Madden NFL, the video game that has changed the way we experience football forever. A visionary collaboration with EA Sports that transformed a former coach into a global brand.
John Mulaney plays Trip Hawkins, founder of EA, while John Madden (retired from the bench) finds a second career in technical commentary and gaming. The film turns out to be a story about the power of imagination applied to the sports business, we go from the grass of the field to microchips without losing identity. And it is precisely here that Russell seems to want to play his most interesting game.
They complete the cast Kathryn Hahn as Virginia Madden, Sienna Miller in that of Carol Davis and Shane Gillis in a role that is still top secret. A assembly which mixes charisma and irony, consistent with the style of a director who has always preferred imperfect characters to monuments.
Cover photo: Prime Video
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