It’s human nature to deflect criticism, but Nicolas Cage is leaning into it in response to negative reception of his “Superman” cameo in Warner Brothers’ The Flash (2023.) 

In the film, a CGI-modified Cage fights a massive spider – an incredible feat, considering how he defends himself by shooting lasers out of his eyes. Tim Burton, however, wasn’t impressed. 

In a September interview with The Independent, Burton expressed his distaste for how his DC characters have been recycled in films like The Flash. He decried how companies like Warner Brothers and Disney can use AI to do whatever they want with an artist’s work without their consent.

Spider or no spider, Cage doesn’t back down from a fight. But in a recent interview with Yahoo Entertainment, he actually agreed with Burton’s assessment. Furthermore, Cage doubled down on criticisms of post-production – giving his firsthand account of how he didn’t even recognize what he had filmed. In fact, Cage says he was never told he’d be fighting a giant arachnid – proving that CGI can be as changeable as the weather.

According to Yahoo Entertainment, Cage said: “When I went to the picture, it was me fighting a giant spider. I did not do that. That was not what I did. I don’t think it was [created by] AI. I know Tim 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. … But I get where Tim’s coming from. I know what he means. I would be very unhappy if people were taking my art … and appropriating them. I get it. I mean, I’m with him in that regard. AI is a nightmare to me. It’s inhumane. You can’t get more inhumane than artificial intelligence.”

Cage is right that stealing someone’s art for your own agenda is pretty inhumane, and with the SAG-AFTRA strikes ongoing, the question of what is considered fair use of someone’s creation will undoubtedly keep reemerging.

Be the judge of Cage’s cameo, CGI and all, in The Flash, now streaming on HBO Max.