Nicolas Cage is currently enjoying a rejuvenated career after a number of huge successes, which has led to talk of a potential superhero movie, and the actor interestingly wants to play the Batman villain Egghead. It's a strange choice when Cage has absolutely any hero or villain to choose from, but the weirdness of the pick is actually on-brand for the quirky actor.
However, Redditors have some choices of their own when it comes to casting Cage in a superhero movie, and audiences would love nothing more than to see him in an MCU film. Between playing Marvel's very own devil, the higher-being who watches over the multiverse, or a villain who can clone himself, Cage's unique acting could fit these perfectly.
Mister Sinister
Mister Sinister is an X-Men villain who is ageless and can clone himself. K0binator thinks the villain would be the perfect vessel for Cage. The Redditor has a great argument for the casting too, noting, "Sinister interacting with endless clones of himself would be a daunting challenge for most other actors, but provide the perfect release for Nic Cage’s inner Nic Cage."
The Redditor makes a great point, as several clones of the characters, which means multiple versions of Cage on the screen at the same time, could be the optimal scenario for Cage to act his most uncaged. The mutants probably won't be introduced until Phase 7, so fans would have to wait a while to see the actor in the MCU, but it'd be totally worth it.
Dr. Connors
HanTheScoundrel thinks Cage would make a great Dr. Connors, the professor who teaches Peter Parker and turns into a lizard. The Redditor comments, "I really like Nic Cage in his mentor roles. He does a good job looking like someone who really wants their apprentice/student/etc. to succeed. I honestly wouldn't mind seeing him play Dr. Connors."
The lizard has been oversaturated in the Spider-Man movies. Dr. Connors appeared in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy, was the primary antagonist in The Amazing Spider-Man, and returned in No Way Home. But with Cage in the role, he could put enough of a twist on the character to make it fresh. And Cage in the role would be worth it for the inevitable scene where Conners first transforms into a lizard alone.
Ghost Rider
Onekeanui notes that there's only one character Cage can play in the universe, explaining, "Y’all remember he was Ghost Rider right? As bad as the movies were I still liked them." The most logical character Cage could play in the MCU is Johnny Blaze, as he already played the character in not one but two Ghost Rider movies.
This could especially work given that the Multiverse Saga is in full swing and the universe is bringing back characters from other franchises. He could even return in a Midnight Sons movie, which is a superhero team that includes supernatural Marvel heroes, such as Ghost Rider, Blade, and Doctor Strange. And fans hope Midnight Sons is the secret September 2024 MCU release.
Norman Osborn
Spiderlander thinks Cage would make a great Green Goblin, asking Reddit, "Norman Osborn maybe?" It's unlikely given that Willem Dafoe returned to play the character in No Way Home, and it was hinted that Ned could become the Hobgoblin. Unfortunately, there isn't much room for another Goblin character, even if Cage would suit the character perfectly.
But as Sony is building a whole universe out of Spider-Man's villains, there's one glaring omission: the Green Goblin, who is the most iconic villain of them all. So, at the very least, Cage could play the character in the Sony Spider-Man Universe instead of the MCU. In fact, Cage's unpredictable and theatrical approach to acting might be more of a fit for the incoherent tone of the Sony movies.
Mephisto
Mephisto has been rumored to appear in the MCU for years now, and it all started when the villain was heavily hinted at in WandaVision. The antagonist is essentially Marvel's version of the devil, and this deleted user thinks Cage should be cast in the role. The Redditor posits, "you know his brand of overacting would actually suit him pretty well."
The user is not wrong, as all of the best on-screen depictions of the devil have been ridiculously over-the-top, whether it's Al Pacino in The Devil's Advocate, Peter Stormare in Constantine, or even Dave Grohl in Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny. Cage could channel his most outrageous roles like Caster Troy in Face/Off for the performance.
Dr. Doom
While everyone has their own actor choice for Dr. Doom in the upcoming Fantastic 4, user Johnny_Mc2 thinks there's no better choice than Cage. The Redditor comments, "I think he could really go over the top and play a good Doom." Interestingly, it almost happened years ago, as Cage was originally cast as Doom in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie.
The original approach to the movie was incredibly dark and apparently much closer to being rated R, which sounds worlds apart from the final result of the silly and very family-friendly 2005 release. However, that concept also sounds perfect for the upcoming Fantastic 4 movie in the MCU, and it'd be fairly poetic if Marvel Studios cast Cage as the character 17 years later.
Shocker
It seems as if Redditors really want to see Cage in a Spider-Man movie. While he does voice Spider-Man Noir in the beloved animated movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, fans clearly want to see him in a live-action role. J_Fo_Film thinks the actor would make a great shocker, even though the character briefly appeared in the MCU in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
The Redditor explains, "I would have thought he'd make a good Shocker. I don't really know why, but I just do." Audiences know Cage's sinister grin all too well, which is probably why users are quick to attach his name to villains. But it's certainly easy to imagine him as the powerful mercenary for hire.
Annihilus
Like Doom, Annihilus is a Fantastic 4 villain, and while most audiences couldn't name an F4 villain outside of their arch nemesis, Annihilus is a worthy adversary and it'd be great to finally see him on the big screen. Prime_Madrox thinks there's only one actor who could play the character, noting, "He would be fantastic as Annihilus."
The villain is a simple man, as he wants to prolong his lifespan and will kill anyone who gets in the way of that. However, there's nothing specific about the character that stands out as a personality trait that only Cage could portray. And if Cage was cast as Annihilus, that would run the risk of the actor being nothing more than a villain of the week in the MCU. If Feige can bag Cage, fans will want to see him stick around for a while.
Sentry
This user wants to see Cage cast as Sentry, positing, "Imagine him as Sentry? Just unstable Nick Cage then amazing hero then dark villain all at once." Sentry is essentially Marvel's very own version of Superman, and casting Cage as the superhero would be more like a gesture of goodwill than anything.
Cage is obsessed with Superman, and he was even cast as the Man of Steel in Tim Burton's Superman Lives, but it was unfortunately abruptly canceled. However, it'd still be fun to see, and as the hero has a part in the Secret Invasion comic book, which is an upcoming Disney+ series, and World War Hulk, which is rumored to be in development, there's no better time to cast Cage than now.
Uatu
A deleted user wants "Nicolas Cage as Uatu, the giant watcher guy." Some fans may know Uatu by the name The Watcher, and the character watches over the entire multiverse to monitor every species. Uatu is a higher being, and the character has a typically higher-being look about him too, as he is giant and has an even bigger head completely disproportionate to the rest of his body.
This makes it hard to imagine Cage in the role. However, CGI could be used or Cage's face could be composited onto a completely digitally created character, but that's even harder to imagine. Either way, it'd be totally fascinating and undoubtedly impossible to look away, just like most of Cage's roles.