I like Nicolas Cage, I really do. I love THE ROCK, FACE/OFF, and CON AIR. ADAPTATION is great and BAD LIEUTENANT: PORT OF CALL NEW ORLEANS is just insane fun. But, the dude will do anything for a paycheck. We have all seen these bad films. it makes you wonder what the man will not do in the name of the almight dollar (or to pay the IRS).
Well, what about the movies that he didn’t end up starring in?
Lons at Ranker.com has compiled a very nice list of the fifteen movies that Nicolas Cage was going to star in or was being considered for. Each movie has a reference as to where Cage was in the running for the role. It is absolutely mindboggling to me that he was almost Willy Wonka, Superman, or Aragorn. All three of those roles would have sunk the movies as a whole. But, Neo, Skeletor, and Francis Dolarhyde would have been interesting choices.
Here is the Top 10 from the Ranker list (along with the star who actually got the role):
1) Superman – SUPERMAN RETURNS (Brandon Routh)
2) Aragorn – THE LORD OF THE RINGS (Viggo Mortensen)
3) Neo – THE MATRIX (Keanu Reeves)
4) Willy Wonka – CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (Johnny Depp)
5) Chev Chelios – CRANK (Jason Statham)
6) The Scarecrow – BATMAN (Cillian Murphy)
7) Randy “The Ram” Robinson -THE WRESTLER (Mickey Rourke)
8) Harry Dunne – DUMB AND DUMBER (Jeff Daniels)
9) John Bender – THE BREAKFAST CLUB (Judd Nelson)
10) John Constantine – CONSTANTINE (Keanu Reeves)
We may never know what would have happened in an alternate universe if those movies had been made. All we can do is watch this video below and let the fact soak in that these movies did, in fact, star Nicolas Cage.