4 Marvel Characters We'd Love To See Nicolas Cage Play

Nicolas Cage has had a long and strange career, establishing himself as a singular talent who gives everything he has in every role. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe continues to expand, it becomes more and more difficult to find big name actors who haven't played some sort of part in it. Cage's name has come up more than once — it's just a matter of who he should play. 

While he may be known for a certain over-the-top style of acting, the star has given plenty of nuanced performances over the years as well. In fact, there are so many Nicolas Cage memes floating around that it's sometimes easy to forget he's actually a fantastic actor. Cage is remembered fondly for roles in movies like "Valley Girl" and "Raising Arizona," but has proven his immense range with films such as "Leaving Las Vegas" and "Adaptation." Let's also not forget Cage's excellent performances in movies like "Mandy," "Longlegs," and "Pig."

So, yes. It's time for a Marvel role.

I know what you're thinking: didn't Nicolas Cage already play a Marvel character? Yes, Cage portrayed Johnny Blaze in "Ghost Rider" in 2007 and reprised the role in its 2011 sequel. However, Marvel movies have come quite a long way since those less-than-spectacular films were released. Cage is a huge comic fan himself and he deserves to be reborn as a different character in the MCU. And yes, he did voice Spider-Man Noir in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," and he's reprising the part in an upcoming TV series, but in the multiverse, Cage could 100% show up as someone different in the MCU proper.

If Cage was to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe, he'd certainly need the perfect role. What parts would best suit the actor? Let's discuss!

Leland Owlsley was introduced in "Daredevil" #3 in 1964. He was created by Stan Lee and Joe Orlando. Owlsley did appear on Netflix's "Daredevil," played by Bob Gunton. However, he was killed off without actually becoming the Owl. He did have a son named Lee and it seems like the plan was to have him become the Owl comic fans are familiar with. That never wound up happening, but what did end up happening was Kevin Feige and company bringing Charlie Cox's Daredevil and Vincent D'Onofrio's Kingpin into the actual MCU, and since the the Man Without Fear is here, why not bring in one of his oldest foes? 

I don't know about you, but not only can I picture Cage with the Owl's signature hairdo, I can also clearly see him pulling off the crime lord's theatrical demeanor. The Owl can be almost feral at times and has a manic energy that Cage could easily capture. He's over-the-top, but can also be quite intimidating, particularly after Brian Bendis and Alex Maleev redefined the character in their incredible Daredevil run in the early aughts.

An actor needs real depth to play Norman Osborn, because they'll also be portraying the Green Goblin. It's akin to playing someone with a split personality and you have to be able to channel both. One of Spidey's greatest foes, Green Goblin was created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. He first appeared in "Amazing Spider-Man" #14 in 1964. Willem Dafoe famously played Osborn in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man trilogy (a role he recently reprised in "Spider-Man: No Way Home") and Chris Cooper portrayed him in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2."

Dafoe did such an incredible job that it's difficult to envision anyone else in the role. It would need to be someone who could bring the same level of intensity, while still making the part their own. Cage could definitely do both of those things. Norman is far more than a crazed masked villain: he's also a genius that has placed himself in immensely powerful positions within the Marvel Universe at various points. There is such a dichotomy within Norman and Cage would probably have a great time playing with that.

A lesser-known character than those mentioned above, the Mad Thinker is often an antagonist of the Fantastic Four. Sometimes referred to just as the Thinker, he was created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee. The villain first appeared in "Fantastic Four" #15 in 1963. The Mad Thinker specializes in robotics, but he can also predict the future, thanks to his math skills and complex machinery, which would now probably just be called computers. Known only by the name Julius, his past is still very much a mystery, giving writers plenty of freedom to pen a cinematic backstory for him.

Now that the Fantastic Four are a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, wouldn't be great to see Cage as this unhinged adversary of Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards? Can't you just see the actor playing a mad scientist? I certainly can. Plus, the Mad Thinker's greatest creation is the fabulously titled Awesome Android, which is capable of mimicking its opponents' powers. Believe it or not, Awesome Andy has a redemption arc in the comics and also major connections to She-Hulk — so Cage playing this character could impact multiple MCU storylines.

Sergei Kravinoff dates back to "Amazing Spider-Man" #15 in 1964, where he was created by Steve Ditko and Stan Lee. One of the founding members of the Sinister Six, Kraven is an over-confident big game hunter who seems to think the only way to prove he's the best is to bag himself a Spider-Man.

And yes, we know what you're thinking — Aaron Taylor-Johnson already played Kraven in the Sony film. But that movie was a major bomb, and we've got a multiverse here, folks. The possibilities are endless. Plus, wouldn't it be nice to see a properly villainous Kraven? Because I'm talking "Kraven's Last Hunt," in which Kraven realizes he's getting too old for this stuff and that the only way to keep his honor intact is to defeat Spider-Man once and for all. Why not have Cage play the aging hunter as he attempts this epic feat? The actor would probably have a whole lot of fun hamming it up as Kraven, who is actually more complex than you might think. Admittedly, the Russian accent might give Cage some trouble (maybe in a good way?), but I can definitely imagine him in Kraven's trademark getup.

Some of these might sound like wild ideas, but one has to admit that such things are something Nicolas Cage is uniquely suited for.