Nicolas Cage is not down to join Star Wars: "I’m a Trekkie, man"

Nicolas Cage

The era of the blockbuster franchise has had an untold impact on cinema as a whole. One consequence is turning competing IP into camps and demanding loyalty from fans and stars alike. If an actor plays it right, they could collect a few, like Zoe Saldaña with Star Trek, Avatar, and Guardians Of The Galaxy. Some rare performers, like Christian Bale, might get to work for competing studios (in this case, Batman for DC and Gorr for Marvel). But others, like Nicolas Cage, may have formed their loyalties long ago without ever even being cast.

Asked in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment! reporter Kevin Polowy if he’d join his Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent co-star Pedro Pascal in the Star Wars universe, Cage replied, “No is the answer, and I’m… not really down. I’m a Trekkie, man. I’m on the Star Trek, I’m on the Enterprise. That’s where I roll.”

Read more

• Disney’s 10 biggest animated flops

• "Weird Al" Yankovic's most essential songs: 25 stinging satires that still endure

• The 22 best high school shows of the past 22 years

“[That’s] a fact. I grew up watching [William] Shatner. I thought [Chris] Pine was terrific in the movies. I think the movies are outstanding. I like the political and the sociological,” he continued. “To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that is really where you can say whatever you want, however you feel. You put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time, in the future, and you can, without people just jumping on it. You can really express your thoughts, like [George] Orwell or whomever in the science fiction format. And Star Trek really embraced that, I thought. They got into some serious stuff.”

Of course, Cage is no stranger to the franchise film; he played a Marvel hero in two Ghost Rider films and was once infamously signed on to play Superman in an aborted Tim Burton movie. (As far as loyalties go, Cage is a fan of both: he stole his stage name from Marvel character Luke Cage, and later named his son Kal-El after Clark Kent’s Kryptonian name over at DC.) He’s continued to associate professionally with both Marvel and DC (Into The Spider-Verse, Teen Titans Go! To The Movies) while still dipping his toes into other franchise waters.

Yet it seems the Star Wars vs. Star Trek debate is where Cage draws the line. Perhaps, now that he has publicly taken a side, he may win himself a role in the upcoming fourth film in the franchise, still in development. There are also plenty of Star Trek spin-offs over at Paramount+ if he’s willing to do television. Whatever the case, no doubt Trekkies will gladly welcome Cage to their cause.

More from The A.V. Club

• The 30 best TV shows of 2022

• The 50 best HBO shows of all time

Sign up for The A.V. Club's Newsletter. For the latest news, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.