Nicolas Cage Answers the Call of Duty in Trailer for New Video Game Expansion

Nicolas Cage‘s career has experienced quite a resurgence in recent years, arguably peaking in 2024 with his critically acclaimed hit Longlegs. He’s on a roll for sure, having recently starred in Prime Video’s Spider-Noir on top of upcoming projects like a Lord of War sequel and the long-overdue Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. But while he has extensive film and TV credits, he’s yet to conquer the world of games. He’s about to change that with Call of Duty: Black Ops 7.

Cage goes full meta in the latest Call of Duty sequel, which is set to kick off its “Summer of Action” Season 4 Reloaded this Jun. 25. Fans are in for a treat because the game will feature Cage himself as a playable character. He barges into the high-octane teaser as a one-man army taking down an elite soldier. It’s crazy how he has never played a Ranger onscreen before, because he definitely looked the part in the game trailer. It’s only fitting that he should also appear in Taylor Sheridan’s movie adaptation.

Cage joins the long list of celebrities who have appeared across the Call of Duty video game franchise — Idris Elba, Kevin Spacey, Jeff Goldblum, Gary Oldman, and Michael Keaton, to name a few. Some also appeared in the games as themselves, like Snoop Dogg and David Hasselhoff. Cage is in good company, considering his only past credit in video games was a voice role in Dead by Daylight. Call of Duty has released 22 games to date, and Black Ops 7 isn’t the most well-received installment, though players might warm up to the game knowing that Cage is now part of the series.

Fans went wild across social media after the reveal, posting Cage memes and movie puns. One user argued the character in the game is actually John Travolta, a reference to Face/Off‘s premise. Reception was largely positive, save for the occasional critics, but say what you will about Cage’s willingness to take on any role, you can’t argue that he ever phoned in a performance. It’s probably because of all the previous opportunities he missed out on when he turned down directors’ initial offers.

Cage said renowned directors mysteriously “lost his number” after he declined their offer for starring roles. It’s a short list including Woody Allen, Paul Thomas Anderson, and Christopher Nolan (for Insomnia). That must have been a huge gut-punch in retrospect, but Cage is at least getting a second chance with David O. Russell, director of Silver Linings Playbook. Cage plays legendary NFL coach John Madden in Russell’s Madden, slated to release in theaters this November.

Cage has six films lined up for release on the horizon, four already in post-production. It’s safe to say he’s busy with projects, which is impressive for an actor who has appeared in at least one film every year for the past 37 years. He’s set to reprise his titular role in the now-confirmed Longlegs follow-up, which is slated to hit theaters on Jan. 14, 2028.