Take a Hint, Gunn: Nicolas Cage Wants to Play This DC Antihero, And He'd Be Perfect
Will the new head of the DCU listen to what the fans want?
In preparation for the upcoming release of Renfield, a horror comedy film about the titular servant of the legendary Count Dracula, the stars of the film participated in an AMA session on Reddit.
Nicholas Hoult, who portrays Renfield, and Nicolas Cage, who plays the role of his infamous master, answered a variety of fan questions about the upcoming film and much more.
One of the most interesting answers came from Cage. When asked by a fan if, given the actor's previous roles, he would like to play another undead character, which one would it be, he gave a rather curious answer.
"Ohh! Yeah! Jim Corrigan, the Spectre (old DC comic character). That would be a fun one. But that's a hard one to pull off because he's virtually invincible, he has no weakness. You need characters that have a kryptonite, that have a flaw, but he's kinda unbeatable. But that would be a fun one," Cage said.
The DC character has had numerous versions of himself throughout comic book history, but at his core, the character is a 1930s police officer who was murdered but refused to go to the afterlife, leading him to return to Earth in the form of an undead ghost to seek vengeance against evil.
Nic's answer made fans cheer for James Gunn, the new head of the DCU, to consider including him in the upcoming reboot of the cinematic universe.
They say the invincibility only adds depth to the character, as Reddit user KDY_ISD pointed out:
"I've always thought invincible characters were much more interesting. It's not "can I be killed" but it's "can I get out of this situation with the world in the shape I want it to be."
If an invincible person is in a cafe with a friend and then a bomb goes off and when the smoke clears he's just sitting in the middle of a pile of rubble, do you think he feels invincible? Can a person grow when they're never in any real danger?"
Conveniently enough, Nicolas Cage has a history of playing the undead. In addition to his upcoming portrayal of Dracula, he also played the Marvel character Johnny Blaze, aka Ghost Rider, in the 2007 film of the same name and its sequel.
Renfield is scheduled for release on April 14, 2023.