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New 'Tiger King' Project Reportedly In Works About 2003 Siegfried & Roy Mauling Incident
The latest iteration would reportedly have little to do with the exploits of imprisoned zookeeper Joe Exotic, the focus of the original docuseries
More content for Netflix's hit docuseries "Tiger King" is reportedly in the works — focusing this time on a story that has nothing to do with former zookeeper Joe Exotic's downfall.
The Hollywood Reporter stated in a new report that they were contacted this week by wildlife veterinarian James Liu, who indicated he was serving as part of Tiger King’s production team and seeking contact information for Chris Lawrence.
Lawrence, a former tiger handler for the renowned illusionist duo of Siegfried & Roy, was profiled by The Hollywood Reporter in 2019 about his struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder following the 2003 tiger attack that ended Roy Horn's career, as well as the events that led up to that fateful incident.
Liu reportedly told the Hollywood Reporter that work was under way on a follow-up project under the Tiger King brand and that the production would be "higher-minded" than the original series. This new follow-up would apparently focus on the tiger attack that resulted in severe injury to Horn.
Horn was performing onstage when he was attacked by the tiger named Mantacore, who proceeded to drag him offstage. Horn suffered a crushed windpipe and was left partially paralyzed with damaged neck arteries in the attack — permanently ending Siegfried & Roy's popular Las Vegas show. However, there is dispute over what led to the tiger attack.
Horn had claimed Mantacore had sensed he was having a stroke and was attempting to save him. Lawrence contended that Horn had mishandled Mantacore and that the attack was a result of human error, and that Horn's version of events was "romanticized." Horn and partner Siegfried Fischbacher have denied that characterization.
An investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture conducted a lengthy investigation but was unable to reach a conclusion on what caused Mantacore's attack, according to the Associated Press. The illusionist duo reunited on stage in 2009 with Mantacore for a charity performance, though Lawrence previously claimed to the Hollywood Reporter that this performance involved a different tiger.
Mantacore died in 2014 at age 17, according to a previous report from the Las Vegas Sun.
Horn died late last week at the age of 75 due to complications from COVID-19, the Associated Press reported.
“From the moment we met, I knew Roy and I, together, would change the world. There could be no Siegfried without Roy, and no Roy without Siegfried," Fischbacher told the AP in a statement.
Netflix did not return a request for comment from Oxygen.com.
