Nicolas Cage thinks the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is becoming a “well-funded and glorified WWE” because there is too much focus on action at the expense of storytelling.
Nicolas Cage thinks the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is becoming a “well-funded and glorified WWE”.
The 62-year-old actor – who played the title character in Prime Video’s Marvel series Spider-Noir and Marvel superhero Ghost Rider in the 2007 film of the same name and 2012 sequel Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance – believes the film franchise has lost its way in recent years and is too focused on action scenes.
Speaking at Fan Expo Dallas, he said: “It started out, in my view, terrific. Some of the early stories were marvellous.
“The way that they wove all the threads together and told the different character stories and backstories.”
“Lately – I do say this with love, when I see these 50-plus and otherwise intelligent and remarkably gifted thespians putting on these ridiculous outfits and getting ready for the fight — let’s face it, it’s all cutting to the fight — it’s hard for me not to be reminded that the MCU is becoming a well-funded and glorified WWE.”
Nicolas called for Marvel to bring its focus back to telling stories, admitting that was the appeal of superhero detective series Spider-Noir, which was set in 1930s New York and in which he played down-on-his-luck private investigator Ben Reilly, aka The Spider.
He added: “One of the things I liked about Spider-Noir was it wasn’t cut into the fight. It was a detective story.
“There was a mystery there. And I would like to see it [MCU] get back to telling the stories and not just cutting to the wrestling match.”
Although Spider-Noir was cancelled after just one season, Nicolas previously insisted he wasn’t upset that it hadn’t been renewed because the story he wanted to tell had been told.
He said in a statement: “For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man. Onwards, upwards, inwards.”
The show marked his TV debut and the Con-Air star previously spoke of how he had looked to the past for inspiration.
He told Deadline: “I wanted to go back to those old ’30s and ’40s movies and watch some Howard Hawks and pick up the speed of delivery from those actors.
“I also thought of Double Indemnity with Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck and tried to embody that essence, mannerisms and vocalisation to collide it with Stan Lee’s masterpiece of Spider-Man and see what spark I could generate. Kind of like a Roy Lichtenstein painting, I wanted to do something that would be both new for me and hopefully for the viewer.”
Nicolas Cage compares MCU to ‘glorified WWE’
