Nicolas Cage shuts down Marvel speculation with iconic one-liner

Nicolas Cage has confirmed he has no intention of joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the most Nic Cage way ever.

The A-lister scooped the Variety legend and groundbreaker award at Miami Film Festival earlier this month, and when asked whether fans can expect to see him in a cape anytime soon, the 59-year-old offered up a blunt response.

‘I don’t need to be in the MCU, I’m Nic Cage,’ he said matter-of-factly.

Cage also spoke at length about Marvel movies, saying he ‘had to be nice about them’.

The star, who is director Francis Ford Coppola’s nephew, said while in Florida: ‘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?’

He added to Variety: ‘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 Tar. I’m seeing all kinds of artistic and independently driven movies. I think there’s plenty of room for everybody.’

It comes after director Mike Figgis alleged that Cage was never actually paid for his Oscar-winning turn in1996’s Leaving For Las Vegas.

Based on the semi-autobiographical 1990 novel of the same name by John O’Brien, the film also starred Elisabeth Shue and Julian Sands.

It tells the story of a Hollywood screenwriter who lost everything because of his alcoholism and arrives in Las Vegas to drink himself to death, forming a friendship and non-interference pact with a sex worker along the way.

The film won Cage the Golden Globe for best actor in a motion picture drama and the Academy Award for best actor, while Shue was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for best actress in a motion picture drama and the Academy Award for best actress.

Leaving Las Vegas also received nominations for best adapted screenplay and best director.

However, despite its runaway success, Figgis said neither Cage nor himself received payment for his role in the film.

In an interview for the It Happened In Hollywood podcast, Figgis was asked about the budget of the film, said to be $3 or $4 million (£2.64 or £3.53 million).

‘Who knows… I never saw the money. I mean, Nicolas and I never got paid,’ he revealed, ‘because they said the film never went into profit.’

Looking on the bright side, Figgis said the production was ‘a labour of love’ and he would do it all again for nothing.

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