Nicolas Cage says Marvel films should put stories before action

MUMBAI: Nicolas Cage has entered the Marvel ring, but he would rather see fewer punches and more plot. During a recent Q&A at Fan Expo Dallas, the Oscar-winning actor said he misses the earlier Marvel Cinematic Universe films that, in his view, placed greater emphasis on character stories and storytelling than on action sequences.

Cage said the MCU had started strongly, praising what he saw as the way its early films connected different characters, backstories and storylines. He also acknowledged that his comments were made with affection for the franchise, even as he expressed reservations about the direction he believes some of its newer films have taken.

The actor’s main criticism centred on the increasing prominence of large-scale fight sequences. Referring to what he described as the repeated build-up towards superhero battles, Cage said the MCU was becoming a “well-funded and glorified WWE”.

He did not identify specific MCU films when discussing the earlier stories he considered “marvelous”. Instead, his comments focused on what he sees as a broader shift from character-driven storytelling towards action-heavy superhero spectacle.

Cage also offered a recent example of the kind of superhero storytelling he would prefer to see. The actor pointed to Prime Video’s Spider-Noir, in which he played the title character, as a series that allowed its central mystery and detective elements to drive the narrative rather than making every storyline a route towards another fight.

Spider-Noir follows Cage’s Ben Reilly, known as The Spider, as a down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York during the Great Depression. The live-action series takes a noir approach to the Spider-Man universe, with its mystery-driven structure setting it apart from a conventional superhero action format.

Cage said one of the aspects he particularly liked about Spider-Noir was that the story was not constantly “cut into the fight”. For him, the detective framework created room for a mystery and allowed the character and investigation to carry the story.

That preference also explains why Cage’s comments are notable even though he has never appeared in an MCU film. His relationship with Marvel’s wider screen universe, however, goes back well before Spider-Noir.

The actor played Johnny Blaze, also known as Ghost Rider, in 2007’s Ghost Rider and 2012’s Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance. Both films were based on Marvel Comics characters, although they were produced by Sony Pictures rather than Marvel Studios as part of the MCU.

Cage’s latest comments therefore come from an actor who has occupied a Marvel-adjacent corner of the superhero film universe while also recently taking on another Marvel character through Spider-Noir. His criticism is specifically directed at the MCU’s storytelling approach rather than a rejection of superhero stories altogether.

Spider-Noir itself lasted one season on Prime Video before being cancelled. The series had offered Cage an opportunity to play a considerably different kind of comic-book character, using the detective genre and 1930s setting to shape its superhero world.

The contrast is central to Cage’s argument: he said he would like the MCU to return to prioritising stories rather than simply moving towards what he described as the equivalent of a wrestling match. His remarks place the emphasis on mystery, character and narrative structure rather than the size of the next action set piece.

For a franchise built around interconnected characters and increasingly large-scale spectacle, Cage’s comments raise a familiar creative question about superhero cinema: how much room should the story have before the fists start flying? For Cage, the answer appears to be simple, give the story its turn before sending the heroes into the ring.