After a major Superman cameo from The Flash surfaced online, director Andy Muschietti expressed his disappointment in how the information got out.
Warning - this article contains major spoilers for The Flash.
The Flash swung for the fences with its use of cameos, particularly in its climactic final battle by including Multiversal Variants of DC heroes, including Nicolas Cage's Superman from Tim Burton's canceled 1998 movie, Superman Lives.
Taking the spotlight as part of the final Chronobowl sequence alongside close to half a dozen other historic DC actors, Cage's Man of Steel showed a glimpse of his power by shooting his heat vision at a giant spider-like enemy.
The Flash Director Dishes on Nic Cage Cameo Leak
But why is this cameo already being discussed so openly?
Speaking on The Discourse podcast with Mike DeAngelo, The Flash director Andy Muschietti and producer Barbara Muschietti commented on Nicolas Cage's cameo as Superman being revealed before the film debuted.
Quotes from Andy Muschietti regarding Nic Cage's cameo were shared in an Esquire interview article in late May, leading many to believe it was intentional for this information to be made public.
It turns out this was not the case, as Andy Muschietti revealed that this information getting out there early was due to a leak, with the director saying that he would have much preferred that the cameo "be a surprise:"
DeAngelo: “You’ve started talking about the Nic Cage cameo, which elicited a ‘No fucking way,’ from me in the theater. Wonderful moment. Why did you decide to let that slip?”
Andy: “No, well, Mike, that was a leak, unfortunately. Yeah, I would’ve never. I would’ve never. It was a leak unfortunately, but didn’t seem to affect much. Of course, I would’ve loved that to be a surprise, but the truth is that the movie has a lot of surprises apart from the Nic Cage thing. And there’s more coming on the 16th.”
Barbara Muschietti shared similar sentiments, noted that they "were not happy" with the leak:
Barbara: “But I’ll tell you, that leak hurt. We were not happy. And when all of this over, I’ll name names. (laughs)”
With the Muschietti's confirming that Cage's cameo was indeed a leak, the interview in quesiton may have been intended to be kept under wraps until The Flash was released to the public.
This is also the third consecutive DC movie that has had a major cameo spoiled after 2022's Black Adam with Henry Cavill's Superman and this year's Shazam! Fury of the Gods with Gal Gadot's Wonder Woman.
How Will DC Handle Leaks Post-The Flash?
Considering how many major cameos have leaked in the last year alone from DC movies, many will be anxious to see how DC Studios looks to prevent these spoilers from being revealed before the appropriate time.
Many of those mistakes have actually been Warner Bros.' own responsibility, and even though they've offered apologies to those that suffered in the aftermath of those leaks, it doesn't take away what happened for fans.
Nic Cage himself took the right route in teasing his cameo more than a year before The Flash debuted, offering nothing definitive on the subject of his Superman as he only said "there might still be a chance" that he could play the role again.
But with rumors already pointing to characters that could make cameo appearances in Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom later this year, it may still be some time until fans get a DC movie that comes to theaters spoiler-free.
The Flash is now playing in theaters worldwide.
