Nicolas Cage’s The Flash Cameo Was Not What He Filmed

Nicolas Cage, the renowned 59-year-old actor, shared his thoughts regarding his cameo as an alternate Superman in the 2023 movie ‘The Flash,’ highlighting that the final product differed significantly from what he filmed.

The actor expressed his understanding of Tim Burton’s disappointment, acknowledging that the CGI-laden multiverse sequence, also featuring Michael Keaton as Batman, deviated from his initial vision. Burton was set to work on ‘Superman Lives’ in 1998, which never came to fruition despite two years of pre-production.

Cage addressed his role in ‘The Flash,’ revealing that the scene he participated in was altered significantly through the use of CGI and de-aging effects, notably deviating from his original filmed sequence. Speaking to Yahoo! Entertainment, Cage expressed his dissatisfaction over any use of AI in filmmaking, emphasizing its inhumane nature.

The actor clarified, “When I went to the picture, it was me fighting a giant spider. I did not do that. That was not what I did… I don’t think it was [created by] AI. It was CGI, OK, so that they could de-age me, and I’m fighting a spider. I didn’t do any of that, so I don’t know what happened there.”

Despite the alterations, Cage commended director Andrés Muschietti and the costume team for their efforts in creating the Superman suit. He detailed the limited time he had during the shoot to convey the emotions of witnessing the destruction of a universe, stating that he primarily relied on his expressions due to the absence of any dialogue.

Cage concluded, “What I was supposed to do was literally just be standing in an alternate dimension, if you will, and witnessing the destruction of the universe… with that short amount of time that I had, what that would mean in terms of what I can convey. I had no dialogue [so had to] convey with my eyes the emotion. So that’s what I did. I was on set for maybe three hours.”