The Oscar-winning actor was supposed to play the superhero in the early ’90s.

Nicolas Cage insists he didn’t name his son Kal-El after Superman

The Oscar-winning actor was supposed to play the superhero in the early ’90s.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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May 29, 2026 3:22 p.m. ET

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Nicolas Cage; Nicolas Cage in 'The Flash'. Credit:

Amy Sussman/Getty; Warner Bros. Pictures

- Nicolas Cage says he did not name his son Kal-El after Superman.

- The actor was supposed to star in *Superman Lives* in the early 1990s.

- Born Nicolas Coppola, "Cage" came from the Oscar-winner being a fan of comic book character Luke Cage.

Believe it or not, Nicolas Cage swears that his son Kal-El is not named after Superman.

Cage is a noted comic book fan, and the biggest what-if of his career is his canceled film *Superman Lives*. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, the Oscar-winner says he had other reasons for bestowing Kal-El on his second of three children.

"What's interesting is I wasn't a Superman enthusiast; I grew up reading the monsters, like Ghost Rider and the Incredible Hulk," Cage told *Entertainment Tonight*. "It's actually a Hebrew name, it means 'Voice of God.' I always thought Kal-El is a beautiful name. So I gave him the name, but it wasn't because of some sort of adoration of Superman."

Kal-El was born in 2005 to Cage and his former wife Alice Kim. The actor further revealed that his son "loves" his name.

Nicolas Cage and son Kal-El Cage in 2015.

Jerod Harris/Getty

And Kal-El was almost a name that Cage went by onscreen. In the early ’90s, Cage and* Batman* director Tim Burton were working on their own Superman film, *Superman Lives*, and footage of Cage in the superhero suit for his costume test has since circulated online. But Warner Bros. ended up getting cold feet and shutting it down before cameras started rolling. (Cage appeared with the aid of visual effects as a version of Superman in 2023's *The Flash*.)

“I would’ve loved to have seen it, but I feel that in many ways, it was sort of a win-win because of the power of the imagination,” Cage previously said. “I think people can actually see the movie in their minds now and imagine it and in many ways that might resonate more deeply than the finished project.”

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Nicolas Cage explains why he legally changed his name

Nicolas Cage on his Superman cameo in 'The Flash': 'Glad I didn't blink'

It would be fair to assume that Kal-El Cage's name derived from Superman because of his father's history with the character and comic book–inspired names. Nicolas Cage was formerly Nicolas Coppola, but he opted to step out of the shadow of his family's Hollywood legacy, and went with Cage due to his affinity for Marvel character Luke Cage.

"'Cage' is a name that I liked coming across in the comics — I just thought he had a cool name — and I grew up in a very avant-garde, artsy family and there was talk about John Cage and the experimental compositions that he did," he recently said. "I changed my name legally last year. I’m Nick Cage in life, and I’m Nick Cage on camera. 'Tis better to be the patriarch of my own little family than the clown cousin on the margins of someone else’s, so I decided I’m going to bring it on and be 'Cage.'"

Cage's comic book love is currently continuing as he stars on Prime Video's *Spider-Noir* as an older, grizzled, alternate version of Spider-Man.

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