Nicolas Cage Slams the MCU as a “Well-Funded and Glorified WWE”
Nicolas Cage has some thoughts about what superhero movies have become, and his comparison of the MCU to professional wrestling is probably going to get Marvel fans talking.
While appearing at Fan Expo, the Spider-Noir star discussed the current state of comic book entertainment and took aim at the massive CGI battles that have become a regular part of Marvel Studios movies.
From Cage’s perspective, watching dozens of talented actors suit up for another enormous showdown can start to feel less like cinema and more like a very expensive wrestling event.
Cage joked about seeing “50-plus” intelligent and talented actors dressed in “ridiculous outfits” as they prepare to throw down. “Let’s face it, it is cutting all to the fight.”
He added that it is “hard for me not to be reminded” that the MCU is becoming a “well-funded and glorified WWE.”
It’s a pretty funny comparison, but you can see what Cage is getting at. The MCU has built a huge part of its blockbuster formula around character team-ups and massive climactic battles.
Those sequences can involve armies of digital characters, elaborate costumes, stunt teams, visual effects, and a whole roster of superheroes converging for the big finish.
Of course, Cage is recently a Marvel superhero himself, just in a very different corner of the comic book world. In Spider-Noir, Cage plays an older version of the Spider-Man variant living in 1930s New York City.
Rather than spending his time helping save the universe from another extinction-level threat, his character operates as a private investigator navigating the city’s criminal underworld. I loved the show, and the direction the creative team took with it.
Spider-Noir also embraces a film noir visual identity that separates it from the colorful spectacle associated with many Marvel Studios productions. Viewers can even watch the episodes in either black-and-white or color.
His criticism also isn’t really about superhero stories themselves. His issue appears to be with the increasingly familiar blockbuster approach where everything eventually builds toward a gigantic fight involving a crowd of costumed characters.
Calling the MCU a “well-funded and glorified WWE” is definitely one way to put it. Considering how often superhero movies end with heroes and villains beating the hell out of each other while half the environment explodes around them, Cage’s wrestling comparison is at least an entertaining one.
Spider-Noir offered Cage the chance to play in the Marvel sandbox without following that particular formula, trading giant superhero battles for detectives, gangsters, 1930s New York, and old-school noir style.