Nicolas Cage Addresses Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Cameo Rumors

Recent years have been very exciting for Marvel fans when it comes to crossovers and unexpected cameos, but anyone who might have held out hope to see Nicolas Cage reprise his Ghost Rider role for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will surely be disappointed that the actor himself has shot down hopes of such an opportunity. While the actor expressed his interest in such an opportunity, especially for the opportunity to work with Benedict Cumberbatch, he doesn't think Marvel Studios will be looking to Cage if and when it came to bringing Ghost Rider into the fold. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is expected to hit theaters on May 6th.

When Cage was asked by GQ if he would be returning for the upcoming sequel, Cage confessed, "Oh, I don't think so. I don't think they're casting me. I mean, I would do it. It would be fun. I'd love to work with Cumberbatch, but I don't think that's happening."

At one point in time, the idea of Cage's Ghost Rider appearing in a Marvel Studios film seemingly would have been an impossibility, but recent behind-the-scenes developments have blown the door wide open for what Marvel fans could expect to see in a live-action project.

Back in the '90s and '00s, Marvel sold the rights to a number of beloved characters to movie studios like 20th Century Fox and Sony Pictures, with those studios making a number of both successful and disappointing theatrical outings. In 2008, Marvel Studios delivered Iron Man, kicking off the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which allowed for a variety of crossovers and team-ups. However, rights issues prevented specific crossovers between studios, with various Marvel universes all existing parallel to one another yet without crossover.

Things changed back in 2015, when Marvel Studios struck a deal with Sony to allow Spider-Man to cross over between franchises, with his Captain America: Civil War debut being a tremendous success, resulting in more collaborations between the studios. This also planted the seed for this past year's Spider-Man: No Way Home to allow former Spider-Man actors Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield to reprise their roles alongside Tom Holland's version of the Wall-Crawler.

Additionally, Disney has since purchased 20th Century Fox, allowing the studio to bring in elements of the X-Men franchise into the MCU. While WandaVision had a subtle crossover by having Evan Peters play a version of Quicksilver, the first teaser for the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel seemingly features Patrick Stewart's Professor Charles Xavier.

Given that Gabriel Luna went on to play a different version of Ghost Rider for Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, who was supposed to get his own spinoff, it's unknown which version of the character the MCU will bring to life when the time comes.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is expected to hit theaters on May 6th.

Are you disappointed Cage won't have a cameo in the film? Let us know in the comments below!