Nicolas Cage says he doesn't need to be in the MCU because he's Nic Cage

Nicolas Cage
(Image credit: RLJE Films)

Nicolas Cage has no plans to join the MCU – and he has the perfect reason why. The actor was asked about superhero movies at Miami Film Festival, where he picked up the Variety Legend & Groundbreaker Award.

"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," he told Variety. "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 ever join the MCU, he had a simple response: "I don’t need to be in the MCU, I’m Nic Cage."

While Cage may not have appeared in any MCU projects, he has been in one Marvel Comics adaptation: he played Johnny Blaze, AKA Ghost Rider, in the 2007 movie of the same name. The character, who first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1972, is a stunt motorcyclist who gives up his soul to the demon Mephisto in order to save his father's life. This means that at night and when he's around evil, his flesh is consumed by hellfire and his head becomes a flaming skull.

Next up for Cage is Renfield, in which he plays Count Dracula opposite Nicholas Hoult and Awkwafina. The movie arrives in theaters on April 14. In the meantime, check out our guide to the rest of the best upcoming movies on the horizon, along with our list of the year's most exciting movie release dates.

Entertainment Writer

I’m an Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, covering everything film and TV-related across the Total Film and SFX sections. I help bring you all the latest news and also the occasional feature too. I’ve previously written for publications like HuffPost and i-D after getting my NCTJ Diploma in Multimedia Journalism. 

Read more
John Malkovich in Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four star John Malkovich reveals he's turned down Marvel before because of bad pay: "If you're going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me"
Spider-Man Noir
Spider-Noir star says the show might be released in black and white as it was shot like a "very genuine film noir"
Colman Domingo in Euphoria
Euphoria star reveals he talked to Marvel about the Kang replacement rumors, but it didn't feel right: "I want a role to be mine"
Guardians of the Galaxy 3
Dave Bautista wants to be in both DC and Marvel's futures, but rules out a Drax return in the new Avengers movie: "The character ran its course"
John Malkovich in Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four star John Malkovich says shooting the Marvel movie was very "odd" because "nothing is really there except giant screens and 18 epic cranes"
Luke Cage
Luke Cage actor still has "hopes" that his character will return: "I don't think it's impossible"
Latest in Superhero Movies
Ben Affleck in Zack Snyder's Justice League
Ben Affleck reflects on the "excruciating experience" playing Batman in the Zack Snyder movies: "A lot of it was misalignment of agendas, understandings, expectations"
James Gunn
James Gunn reacts to Jason Momoa almost spoiling his Lobo costume in an interview: "I just want to profoundly thank Jason’s publicist"
Peter Dinklage as Toxie in The Toxic Avenger
The first trailer for Peter Dinklage's long awaited Toxic Avenger reboot movie channels all the raunchy weirdness of the '80s original
Hot Fuzz
The 35 greatest 2000s action movies
Captain America: Brave New World
Giancarlo Esposito confirms he was originally set to play Marvel's King Cobra in Captain America: Brave New World: "It was a bit of a whirlwind"
Chris Evans as Steve Rogers in Avengers: Endgame
The Russo brothers hope that Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars are a "new beginning" for the MCU
Latest in News
Mario faces the camera with a thumbs up pose in Super Smash Bros. Ulimate.
Nintendo Direct March 2025 live – all the Switch news, trailers, and reveals as they happen
Batman: Arkham Knight
Rocksteady's rumored single-player Batman game is in development for PC, PS5, Xbox, and "the next generation of consoles"
Pillars of Eternity
10 years later, in a post-Baldur's Gate 3 and Avowed world, Obsidian is giving its own throwback CRPG Pillars of Eternity a turn-based combat mode
Destiny 2 Lightfall
When Destiny 2 "weekly active users dropped lower and faster than we'd seen since 2018," Bungie assembled an A-Team to put out some fires: "We needed to do something"
Velma, Daphne, Fred, Shaggy, and Scooby-Doo looking at a giant key which is also a clue
Netflix is rebooting Scooby-Doo as a live-action series from the producer of Supergirl and The Flash centered around a "supernatural murder" at a summer camp
Astro Bot
Astro Bot went through 23 pitch iterations before its director promised PlayStation "happy gameplay" and "overflowing charm," though it did once end with robot decapitation that made "some people really upset"