Nicolas Cage says he 'doesn't need' to join the MCU because 'he's Nic Cage’

Iconic American actor Nicolas Cage may have been involved in a few Marvel movies in the past, but he has no raging desire to cement himself as part of the MCU, he’s revealed.

As Variety reports, when the actor accepted his Variety Legend and Groundbreaker Award at the Miami Film Festival at the end of last week, he talked about his career and also touched on the state of modern-day superhero movies.

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania released in cinemas last month - take a look at the trailer below.

“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 said, in reference to how he changed his surname from ‘Coppola’ early in his career. “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.”

Despite the fact that his name draws inspiration from the world of Marvel, the actor has one very simple reason why he’s not that bothered about securing an actual place in the ever-expanding cinematic universe. “I don’t need to be in the MCU,” he said. “I’m Nic Cage.” Can’t argue with that, to be fair.

Cage might be indifferent about joining the MCU, but there’s no doubt that he’d be warmly received in any further superhero movie roles he might take on in the future. Back in January, some fan-made images of him as Batman’s arch-enemy Joker proved that he’d be an incredible fit in the DCU too.

The actor will be playing none other than Dracula in the upcoming comedy horror Renfield, which is set to hit cinemas on 14 April, so look forward to that.