Nicolas Cage Calls AI ‘Inhumane’ and a ‘Nightmare,’ Says CGI Changed His Superman ‘Flash’ Cameo : Spider Fight ‘Was Not What I Did’ on Set
Nicolas Cage has shared his thoughts on the use of AI in films, as well as his feelings about the final cut of his cameo as Superman in Warner Bros.’ “The Flash.”
In a recent interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, Cage expressed his personal distaste for the technology, saying, “AI is a nightmare to me. It’s inhumane. You can’t get more inhumane than artificial intelligence.”
More from Variety
Tim Burton to Direct 'Attack of the Fifty Foot Woman' Remake With 'Gone Girl' Author Gillian Flynn
Nicolas Cage Wants to Play Pontius Pilate in 'Jesus Christ Superstar' Musical
While AI did not play a part in Cage’s surprise cameo as Superman in “The Flash,” the final scene was different from what he shot for the 2023 superhero movie, according to the actor.
“What I was supposed to do was literally just be standing in an alternate dimension, if you will, and witnessing the destruction of the universe,” Cage explained. “Kal-El was bearing witness [to] the end of a universe, and you can imagine with that short amount of time that I had, what that would mean in terms of what I can convey. I had no dialogue [so had to] convey with my eyes the emotion. So that’s what I did. I was on set for maybe three hours.”
In “The Flash,” Cage’s Man of Steel is seen battling a giant spider as the multiverse begins to collapse, a reference to Tim Burton’s axed “Superman Lives” movie, which the actor was set to star in as the titular superhero.
“When I went to the picture, it was me fighting a giant spider,” Cage said. “I did not do that. That was not what I did. I don’t think it was [created by] AI. I know Tim [Burton] is upset about AI, as I am. It was CGI, OK, so that they could de-age me, and I’m fighting a spider. I didn’t do any of that, so I don’t know what happened there.”
Back in September, Burton criticized AI recreations of Disney characters in his trademark style in an interview with The Independent, saying, “I can’t describe the feeling it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul.’”
“What it does is it sucks something from you,” he continued. “It takes something from your soul or psyche; that is very disturbing, especially if it has to do with you. It’s like a robot taking your humanity, your soul.”
Burton later weighed in on Cage’s cameo as Superman in “The Flash,” saying, “But also it goes into another AI thing, and this is why I think I’m over it with the studio. They can take what you did, ‘Batman’ or whatever, and culturally misappropriate it, or whatever you want to call it. Even though you’re a slave of Disney or Warner Brothers, they can do whatever they want. So in my latter years of life, I’m in quiet revolt against all this.”
Best of Variety
Sign up for Variety’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
