Nicolas Cage has an amazing response to being asked to host Saturday Night Live again — he has suggested that Andy Samberg should host instead, doing his infamous impression of the actor. Cage is the star of the comedy-action film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which recently had its premiere at SXSW and is set to be released on April 22nd, 2022. In the film, Cage plays a fictionalized version of himsgelf who begrudgingly accepts a $1,000,000 offer to attend the birthday party of billionaire crime boss and superfan Javi (Pedro Pascal). The film co-stars Tiffany Haddish, Sharon Horgan, and Ike Barinholtz. Cage revealed earlier this year that he initially turned down the role four times before accepting after receiving a heartfelt letter from the film’s writer-director Tom Gormican.
The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent pays homage to some of Cage’s most iconic roles, as teased in the film’s trailer. However, Saturday Night Live has also paid homage to Cage’s well-known intensity and eccentricity over the years, most famously with cast member Andy Samberg’s impression of the actor. During Samberg’s time on SNL, he impersonated Cage several times on Weekend Update during a segment known as “Get In The Cage With Nicolas Cage,” in which he would interview other actors. The segment was so well-received that Cage himself made a cameo appearance on Weekend Update in 2012, in which he and Samberg as Cage acted alongside each other.
Cage’s “Get In The Cage” cameo has been fondly remembered as one of Saturday Night Live’s most memorable moments of the past decade. Now, Cage has jokingly suggested that if SNL wants him to host again, they should call Samberg to do his impersonation. In an interview with GQ, Cage revealed that he had been asked to do the show again but was unsure, saying instead “I feel like saying, ‘Well, why don’t you call Andy Samberg? I mean, I hear he’s available.’”
With Brooklyn Nine-Nine having ended its eight-season run last year and Chip N’ Dale: Rescue Rangers set to release on May 20, Samberg really is available to potentially host an upcoming episode of SNL. Though he might not do the whole show in character as Cage, a special edition of “Get In The Cage” on Weekend Update would be perfectly timed considering all the hype surrounding The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
Samberg left SNL in 2012 and last hosted the show in 2014, so now could be a perfect opportunity for Cage to appear on the sketch comedy show again in one way or another. Cage himself only hosted SNL once, all the way back in 1992, so it certainly would be fitting for him to appear again thirty years later. No matter what the future of Nicolas Cage on SNL looks like, “Get In The Cage With Nicolas Cage” will always be remembered as an iconic piece of Saturday Night Live history.
