17 Years Later, Nicolas Cage’s Divisive Cult Thriller Is Officially Getting A Sequel

Published Sep 15, 2026, 8:58 PM EDT

Cathal Gunning has been writing about movies, television, culture, and politics online and in print since 2017. He worked as a Senior Editor in Adbusters Media Foundation from 2018-2019 and wrote for WhatCulture in early 2020. He has been a Senior Features Writer for ScreenRant since 2020.

While it has been some 17 years since one of Nicolas Cage’s most divisive cult movies arrived, the belated and barely related sequel to Bad Lieutenant is now on its way soon. There have always been long gaps between sequels and franchises that failed to follow predictable patterns when it came to their release schedules. Released in 1985, Return to Oz was a divisive, long-delayed unofficial sequel to 1939’s The Wizard of Oz.

More recently, there was a 39-year gap between The Shining and Doctor Sleep, while Stephen King’s weirdest movie franchise has had not one, not two, but three separate reboots across 11 movies. That said, these movies themselves are at least relatively mainstream, even if their release patterns are bizarre and unpredictable. The same can’t be said for the unlikely trilogy that brought together cult movie legends Abel Ferrara, Werner Herzog, and Takashi Miike.

Released in 1992, Bad Lieutenant was written by the late Zoë Lund and directed by Ferrara. A heartbreaking portrait of a violent, corrupt, almost irredeemably awful New York cop, Bad Lieutenant received a rare NC-17 rating thanks to its graphic violence, hard drug use, explicit sex, and punishingly brutal story. As tough a watch as it was, Bad Lieutenant soon became a cult phenomenon thanks to star Harvey Keitel’s fearless central turn. Then came 2009’s Nicolas Cage movie Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, followed by Takashi Miike’s upcoming Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo.

Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo Completes One Of Cinema’s Weirdest Trilogies Ever

Not only was Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans not a straightforward sequel or remake of the 1992 movie, but its director, Herzog, even insisted he had never seen the original movie. Where Bad Lieutenant was a portrait of a monstrous cop that made True Detective and Mare of Easttown look like Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans was something else entirely.

On paper, Herzog’s movie is technically also a dark crime thriller about a corrupt cop with a drug problem who descends into hedonism over the course of a messy spiritual crisis. However, where Bad Lieutenant is heart-wrenching in its unrelenting tragedy, Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans is a surreal, surprisingly funny odyssey anchored by a deranged central turn from Cage. With an incredible supporting cast including Eva Mendes, Jennifer Coolidge, and Val Kilmer, it is an utterly unique and hilariously hallucinogenic ride.

After Ferrara’s almost unbearably tortured original character study of Catholic guilt and Herzog’s sillier, immeasurably trippier post-Katrina New Orleans sequel, it didn’t seem like the franchise was due for another release any time soon. However, now an upcoming NEON movie from Ichi the Killer’s director Takashi Miike, Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo, is set to bring the series to another setting for another utterly unpredictable outing.

Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo Has A Lot To Live Up To

Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo’s synopsis says the movie follows a Tokyo cop with a gambling problem who gets entangled with an FBI agent investigating the disappearance of a politician’s daughter. Already, the first teaser trailer for Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo reveals that Shun Oguri’s title character is also as partial to cocaine abuse, reckless driving, and wanton violence as his predecessors, although Miike’s movie seems a lot closer in tone to Herzog’s sequel than Ferrara’s original.

The extremely prolific Miike has directed dozens of movies throughout his illustrious career, including live-action Ace Attorney and Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure movies. However, he is best known in the West for the legendary 1999 psychological horror Audition, as well as the surrealist efforts Gozu, Visitor Q, and Ichi the Killer. His Bad Lieutenant: Tokyo will have a lot to live up to, as the first two Bad Lieutenant movies currently sit at 78% and 87% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Cast

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  Shun Oguri

  Kyoji Yabuki

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  Lily James

  Nguyen

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  Gionna Daddio

• Shotaro Mamiya