Nicolas Cage no longer part of 'Green Hornet'

Back in July, Nicolas Cage entered negotiations to play the villain in Michel Gondry's "The Green Hornet," but as we learn from Heat Vision, he's now no longer involved with the film, which has already started shooting.

Not many details have been released, but apparently, Columbia and Cage failed to seal a proper deal. That means they're now looking for a new guy to play the baddie.

Remember "Hornet" already had troubles with casting. Stephen Chow was originally set to play Kato, the sidekick of the lead character (Seth Rogen), but then he dropped out. Jay Chou eventually replaced him.

The film follows the adventures of Britt Reid, who inherits his dad's newspaper and fights crime as a masked hero at night. Evan Goldberg and Rogen penned the script for the flick, which is set for release next year.

Meanwhile, Cage is keeping himself busy. He just signed on to two projects: "Drive Angry," a 3D action flick, and "The Hungry Rabbit Jumps," a thriller to be directed by Roger Donaldson.