Cage to join 'The Vanished'

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Nicolas Cage has signed on to star in the thriller "The Vanished," which will mark the Hollywood studio directorial debut of Hany Abu-Assad.

Abu-Assad is the Palestinian-born director of the Oscar-nominated film "Paradise Now."

Written by Larysa Kondracki and Eilis Kirwan, "The Vanished" is about a father in search of his college-age, U.S.-born Muslim son who is missing overseas, Variety.com reported Wednesday.

The Focus Features movie is to start filming in the spring.

Before he stars in Abu-Assad's film, Cage first plans to star in Darren Aronofsky's independent drama "The Wrestler" in January.

Cage recently finished a remake of "Bangkok Dangerous," as well as the sequel "National Treasure: Book of Secrets," which is to open Dec. 21.