Nicolas Cage says MCU is becoming ‘glorified WWE’

Nicolas Cage is offering a pointed, if good-natured, critique of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s modern direction, comparing it to professional wrestling.

During a Q&A appearance at Fan Expo Dallas, he said, “I do say this with love,” before getting to the heart of his criticism.

“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.”

Cage was careful to note that his frustration is with the franchise’s recent direction rather than its origins, praising Marvel’s earlier approach to character work.

“It started out, in my view, terrific. Some of the early stories where Marvel is, the way that they wove all the threads together and told a different character’s stories and backstories,” he said.

He went on to contrast that with his own recent Marvel-adjacent project, Prime Video’s Spider-Noir series, in which he played the title character, suggesting it offered something more substantive than typical superhero fare.

“There was a mystery there.”

The comments have generated notable attention online, in part because Cage himself has a long history with comic book adaptations despite never having appeared in an official MCU production, he played Ghost Rider in two films, voiced Superman in Teen Titans Go! To the Movies, and appeared in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, among other genre work.

His remarks also arrive just weeks after Amazon canceled Spider-Noir after a single season, and as the MCU prepares to release Avengers: Doomsday this December, a film built around the returns of Robert Downey Jr., Patrick Stewart and Chris Evans.

Notably, Cage’s own former Ghost Rider character is being rebooted within the MCU with Ryan Gosling now cast in the role.

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