Nicolas Cage has signed on to star in the upcoming supernatural thriller Pay the Ghost, which Voltage Pictures is currently shopping to buyers at the Cannes Film Festival.

The story centers on a NYU English professor seeking tenure, whose world is turned upside down when his eight-year-old son mysteriously disappears from a Halloween parade. Nicolas Cage's performance in the critically-acclaimed indie drama Joe is what lead the filmmakers to seek him out for this role.

Uli Edel (The Baader Meinhof Complex) is directing from a screenplay by Daniel Kay, based on the short story of the same name by Tim Lebbon. The screenwriter developed the script on spec with Ian Levy of Midnight Kitchen Productions, who is producing alongside Voltage Pictures' Nicolas Chartier and Craig J. Flores. Voltage is currently seeking a female lead for the project, in hopes of getting production started sometime this summer.

Nicolas Cage will next be seen in Left Behind, and he also has upcoming sequels The Croods 2 and National Treasure 3 in development.