Malin Akerman Joining Nicolas Cage in Medallion?

Malin Akerman (Couples Retreat) is currently in negotiations to star alongside Nicolas Cage (Season of the Witch) in Medallion, an action thriller directed by Simon West. Akerman will play the part of Cage’s character’s ex-girlfriend, a former bank robber.

The film, produced by Nu Image and Millennium Films, will be about a former master thief (Cage) whose daughter is kidnapped and held captive in the trunk of a New York City medallion taxicab. The character only has a few hours to find and free his daughter before she dies. Akerman’s character agrees to re-visit her criminal past and help him.

David Guggenheim (Safe House) wrote the script. Director West previously directed Cage in 1997′s Con Air, so the reunion may actually give Cage a box office hit for the first time in ages. Medallion, which once had Clive Owen (Duplicity) attached to star – so, you know, major downgrade from Owen to Cage, there – is expected to begin filming in New Orleans in mid-March with an eye toward a 2012 release.

Malin Akerman’s other upcoming projects include happythankyoumoreplease, the directorial debut of How I Met Your Mother‘s Josh Radnor, and Wanderlust, co-starring Paul Rudd and Jennifer Aniston.