Ever since Nicolas Cage staked his claim as a relevant actor in Hollywood, his name has popped up a bit in superhero media. He almost starred in a live-action Superman movie in the mid-90s, but it appears the revered actor has his sights set on an obscure Batman villain now.
In addition to the aforementioned live-action Superman movie in the mid-90s, Cage was Sam Raimi's original choice to play the Green Goblin in the original Spider-Man movie, then he finally saw himself in superhero flicks like the Ghost Rider films, Kick-Ass, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Best of all, it sounds like he may not be done with the genre just yet, as Batman villain Egghead seems to be his desired role.
While talking to Fox 7 Austin, Cage stated that he'd love to be involved in The Batman franchise and play one particular villain not many Batman films are familiar with. "The villain that Vincent Price played on the '60s show, Egghead — I think I want to have a go at Egghead. I think I can make him absolutely terrifying," Cage said. "And I have a concept for Egghead. So let them know over at Warner Bros., I'm down for Egghead." Cage's enthusiasm to participate in more superhero media in the future is fresh to see, seeing how Hollywood names like Martin Scorsese have often criticized the genre for being like an amusement park. Although, if you're familiar with Egghead, you would think that's a somewhat odd character to modernize in today's superhero culture. "I don't know what the umbrage is with people that want to knock them... I certainly think there's great value in that they're bringing happiness to people," said Cage.
Egghead is a very obscure Batman villain seeing as how he was conceptualized for the Adam West Batman show and not the comics. Egghead fit the goofy tone for the '60s Batman show, as all of his antics and catchphrases were egg-themed, like having tear gas eggs and saying things like, "Egg-cellent!" Reading that makes one wonder if Warner Brothers may have used his character for inspiration when they adapted Mr. Freeze for Batman and Robin in 1997.
Knowing Cage's reputation, that kind of character would be perfect for a guy like him. No matter what you think of Cage, one thing for sure is that he's an actor who gives it his all no matter how weird he can come off at times. Now that we're in an era where Cage's style is not only appreciated but apparently embraced, no questions asked, this would probably be yet another memorable performance in a long line of them for Cage.
Sadly, even though this character's MO fits Cage's acting repertoire like a tee, it's difficult to see how this would fit into Matt Reeves' Batman universe. Reeves' take on Batman and Gotham is dark, gritty, and realistic. Putting a campy villain like Egghead in that world would be difficult to pull off. Then again, Batman villains like Riddler and Penguin weren't exactly highly-repped baddies - compared to say Joker and Two-Face - before their latest appearance in The Batman. Reeves took some liberties with them, and they worked quite well to the film's benefit. Who's to say he can't do the same with someone who says, "Egg-xactly!"
The Batman is now playing in theaters.
Source: Fox 7 Austin/YouTube