Nicolas Cage says Stan Lee is his 'surrealistic father' but he doesn't 'need to be in' the Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Nicolas Cage told Variety that he doesn't "need to be in the" Marvel Cinematic Universe.
- He said he wouldn't "put down" the franchise because he adopted his name from Marvel's Luke Cage.
Nicolas Cage said that he doesn't have any desire to star in the Marvel Cinematic Universe but he will not "put down" the franchise.
While accepting Variety's legend and groundbreaker award at Miami Film Festival on Sunday, Cage was asked about his thoughts on Marvel movies and the general film landscape.
"I've gotta be nice about Marvel movies, because I named myself after a Stan Lee character named Luke Cage," Cage told Variety, referring to the African-American superhuman with unbreakable skin. "What am I going to do, put Marvel movies down? Stan Lee is my surrealistic father. He named me."
Cage's real name is Nicolas Kim Coppola.
Cage continued: "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."
When asked if he would want to star in the MCU, Cage responded: "I don't need to be in the MCU, I'm Nic Cage."
Cage is no stranger to comic book movies. In fact, he has starred in three Marvel movies outside of the MCU, playing Ghost Rider and Spider-Man Noir.
Several actors and directors have been critical of the MCU and franchises in general because they believe they limit the number of artistic movies being made.
Award-winning director Quentin Tarantino said on the "2 Bears, 1 Cave" podcast last year: "My only axe to grind against them is they're the only things that seem to be made. And they're the only things that seem to generate any kind of excitement amongst a fan base or even for the studio making them."
While speaking to Variety, Cage also reflected on how he almost played the DC hero Superman in the 1990s. Cage was cast in Tim Burton's 1998 movie "Superman Lives," but it never made it to the big screen after falling apart in preproduction.
Cage recalled of the production: "They wanted Renny Harlin to do the movie. I sat down with Renny. I was doing another picture, he came to the trailer and we talked. I liked Renny… but I thought if I'm going to do this, it's such a bullseye to hit."
He continued: "I said, this has to be Tim Burton. I called Tim and said, 'Would you do this?' Tim didn't cast me, I cast Tim, and Tim said yes. I loved what he did with Michael [Keaton] and Batman, and I was a big fan."
Cage said he didn't know why the movie was never made, but shared details about the direction it was heading.
"It was more of a 1980s Superman with, like, the samurai, black long hair," Cage said. "I thought it was gonna be a really different, sort of emo Superman, but we never got there."