Nic Cage Says Ghost Rider 2 Is Headed To Europe. UPDATE: Says Kick-Ass Won’t Be Gratuitously Violent?
By Hunter Stephenson/Sept. 4, 2008 11:50 am EST
Over at Dark Horizons, Cage added that the plot will have Johnny Blaze “working with different religious figures.” Did these interviewers bring a smirk-o-meter? I’m not an aficionado on this character or the canon, but Nic Cage subbing for Tom Hanks in The Da Vinci Code with a flaming skull sounds like a great pitch for a new show on Adult Swim. Let’s hope Marvel and Sony flick on the greenlight.
Oh, and Cage also added that he’s a great fit for Matthew Vaughn and Mark Millar’s $70 million Kick-Ass because as a kid he used to dress up as a superhero and go fight imaginary crime past his bedtime. Slashfilm offers a toast.
UPDATE: Uh oh. Before we begin, let me state that I have full confidence in Matthew Vaughn to bring Kick-Ass to the screen in all its manic, blood-letting, super-hyped glory. The cover to the right states, “Sickening violence just the way you like it!” Two days ago, we reported that the independently funded, provocative comic book film had its budget raised by $40 million, with Vaughn previously stating that going indie was the only way to stay faithful to the source material. But now Nic Cage tells MTV that…
As /Film reader, “Oi Vey,” points out: isn’t this Bangkok Dangerous clip a primo example of “gratuitous violence?” Nice point. Either way, Cage’s on-record obliviousness is a great way to get fanboys on the bad side of this project, especially when Universal’s adaptation of Millar’s Wanted retained most of his signature explicit violence while doing away with cool plot points. Millar has stated that Kick-Ass’s mayhem will far surpass Wanted’s, but the announcement of Cage’s involvement was already testing fanboy waters. There’s only one solution, fire him. Well, he did make Vampire’s Kiss and Wild at Heart, so maybe not. But give him a pep talk.
Vaughn has expressed for years that when he finally sinks his teeth into a comic book flick—at one point this film was X3, then Thor—it will be nothing less than balls-out spectacular. Unless he confirms Cage’s toned-down impression, Kick-Ass remains at the top of my list.
