The Flash featured numerous cameos of actors (dead or alive) from past DC films, TV shows, and even unmade projects with one of them being Nicolas Cage, who showed up as a version of Superman in another universe during a brief sequence near the end.
The Oscar winner's cameo was a nod to the canceled Superman project in the '90s titled Superman Lives, where he was supposed to play the Man of Steel and was almost close to filming before it was canned altogether.
However, when we saw Cage's version of Superman in the film, he has a more CGI-looking appearance and the likeness that we saw matches the actor's look back when he was attached to the project in the '90s.
You might be wondering, did Cage actually film his cameo? How did they make the magic happen? Now, we have all the answers that you need.
The Behind-the-Scenes Story Behind Nicolas Cage's The Flash Cameo
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Flash director Andy Muschietti explained why they decided to include Cage's Superman during the film's multiverse sequence.
"Part of the idea of the multiverse is presenting these worlds as living together and real. So the fact that [Superman Lives] wasn't made, doesn't mean that that doesn't exist somewhere in the multiverse. That was my grease from the beginning of this," he said.
Producer Barbara Muschietti also added that the film was supposed to add more characters during the multiverse sequence, but they ended up being cut. However, when Cage's name was suggested, they decided to include him and contact his agent immediately to make it happen.
"We had a lot more characters that we had to let go because there just wasn't the time," she shared. "We were all gobsmacked. We were like, 'We have to get him!' Immediately we called his agents."
While you may suspect that Cage's cameo was done through CGI, the director did confirm that the actor showed up on set to film his cameo by performing through volume capture and using digital enhancement technology to match the appearance to his '90s era.
"He did volume-capture because we needed his performance, but in the movie, obviously Superman is younger, so we wanted to portray a Superman that is the age that Superman was in 1996, which is the year where the movie Superman Lives would have come out," Andy Muschietti explained.
Barbara also confirmed that the Oscar winner shot his cameo in his own Superman costume, "We shot him in his suit and he looked insane. Amazing."
There you go, we have the confirmation that Cage did physically shoot his cameo in the film and it also explains why his appearance looks more CGI on the screen.
Cage's special appearance was definitely a good easter egg for hardcore DC fans and it gave us the wish fulfillment of one of the biggest what-ifs in the superhero movie genre.
Also Read: The Flash: New Report Reveals the Movie's Original Endings
The Flash is showing in theaters everywhere. You can check more details about it here.
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