Nicolas Cage Compares the MCU to Pro Wrestling, and Marvel Fans Are Taking Sides

Nicolas Cage has never been shy about doing things his own way. The Oscar winner has spent more than 4 decades bouncing between prestige dramas, action staples, and gleefully unhinged genre experiments. So it’s fitting that his latest take on the MCU arrives with the kind of flair only he could deliver.

That independent streak has defined his recent run, too. 2026 has put Cage back in the spotlight thanks to his first-ever TV role, and it’s shaping how he talks about the superhero genre. When a star with his résumé weighs in on Marvel, people listen.

On September 29, Cage appeared at Fan Expo and offered a candid critique of where the superhero genre is heading. He said he sees more than 50 otherwise intelligent, remarkably gifted actors putting on ridiculous outfits and getting ready for a fight. In his view, the movies inevitably cut to the brawl, which reminded him of a well-funded, glorified version of pro wrestling.

A clip of the moment spread fast after it was shared on X; Cage reportedly framed the comment affectionately, though that didn’t stop the internet from turning it into a full-blown debate.

The timing adds some spice. Marvel is gearing up for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ this December, a film built around the returns of Robert Downey Jr., Patrick Stewart, and Chris Evans, among others. Cage’s remarks land right as the studio leans on familiar faces and large-scale team-up spectacle.

Cage isn’t speaking from the sidelines. He fronted ‘Spider-Noir’, which premiered in May 2026 on MGM+ and Prime Video, playing Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York who once operated as the city’s only superhero. The 8-episode series wasn’t part of the MCU, and its film noir styling set it apart from the colorful spectacle Marvel Studios is known for.

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Critics and viewers embraced it. The show earned a 92% critics score and a 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and it landed 11 Emmy nominations, the most of any Prime Video series this year. It also debuted at No. 2 on Nielsen’s U.S. Top 10 for original series with 851 million minutes viewed in its first week.

Even so, Prime Video decided against a second season, according to Deadline. Cage responded in an exclusive statement to Deadline, saying that a single season felt like the right length and that he had said what he wanted to say with his pop-art take on Spider-Man.

This isn’t the first time Cage has kept Marvel at arm’s length. A 2023 clip from a Miami Film Festival panel resurfaced earlier this year, showing him saying that he doesn’t need to join the MCU. His current comments fit neatly into that pattern of a star who prefers to chase weirder, more personal projects.

Cage also isn’t alone in questioning the direction of the franchise. Many observers have argued that Marvel leans too heavily on returning names instead of building something new. Whether his wrestling comparison is a fair jab or an overstatement is exactly what fans are now hashing out online.

What’s next for Cage is clear. He’s set to appear at New York Comic Con from October 8 to 11, with a full panel on Saturday and Sunday where he’ll discuss past projects and share behind-the-scenes stories. Given his latest comments, that appearance suddenly looks even more interesting.

For now, the conversation around ‘Spider-Noir’, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, and Marvel’s blockbuster formula shows no signs of cooling off. Cage may have started it with a single line, but the debate about spectacle versus storytelling is much bigger than one actor.

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