No matter how much you love comic books and superheroes, there’s probably not a chance you love them more than Nicolas Cage, with the actor’s lifelong obsession with the artform becoming the stuff of legend.
Of course, that’s to be expected when the eccentric thespian has cultivated a well-earned and fully-deserved reputation as one of the most idiosyncratic talents in Hollywood both onscreen and off, so it doesn’t come as a shock to anyone that he took his stage name from Luke Cage, had Ghost Rider tattooed on his arm long before he played the role, and even named his son Kal-El.
As a result, one thing that’s been on the wish-list of the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom for years is seeing Cage pop up in Kevin Feige’s franchise. While the Academy Award winner did play Johnny Blaze twice and lent his vocal talents to Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, a full-blown MCU debut would nonetheless be greeted with wild celebrations.
While accepting his award as the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker award at the Miami Film Festival, though, Cage opined on his lifelong love of all things superheroic.
“I’ve gotta be nice about Marvel movies, because I named myself after a Stan Lee character named Luke Cage. What am I going to do, put Marvel movies down? Stan Lee is my surrealistic father. He named me. I understand what the frustration is. I get it. But I think there’s plenty of room for everybody. I’m seeing movies like Tár. I’m seeing all kinds of artistic and independently driven movies. I think there’s plenty of room for everybody.”
So far, so diplomatic. However, when asked outright if he’d be interested in boarding the sprawling Multiverse Saga, Cage’s response was phenomenally on-brand.
“I don’t need to be in the MCU, I’m Nic Cage.”
You can’t fault the man’s logic, because The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent proved his point twice over. Sadly, he doesn’t seem to keen on the MCU, but it might be too early to uncross those hopeful fingers just yet.