Nicolas Cage has played many iconic roles across many different genres: fantasy, sci-fi, action, horror— he’s done it all and been it all. He’s also gotten to the point where he often plays himself, like in the film The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
But now Cage is making his video game debut as himself. And it’s happening in, of all things, the horror-action game, Dead by Daylight.
What is Dead by Daylight?
Dead by Daylight is what’s known as an asymmetrical horror game, where players can play as multiple roles: killers or survivors. The game has had DLCs from Halloween, Left4Dead, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, A Nightmare on Elm Street (the 2010 remake), SAW, The Evil Dead, Ghostface (the costume, not the characters from Scream), Silent Hill, Resident Evil, Hellraiser, and The Ring, among many other horror franchises. The game has called itself the “Hall of Fame for Horror Icons” for this reason.
Why Nicolas Cage and Dead by Daylight?
While Nic Cage has acted in many iconic horror movies, the collaboration between Cage and DBD has come out of left field for fans of both. But that doesn’t mean it’s unwelcome.
DBD fans have already been voicing their approval on Twitter.
Honestly, as a DBD player, this news could not have come at a better time. The game has been struggling for the past 8 months due to changes in the game’s META and a couple of original chapters that have been panned by the community as a whole. But this DLC and its scheduled release date (July 5th, the day after Independence Day) seems to indicate that DBD will be leaning more into its inherent campiness and bringing more fun back into the game.
How will they pull this off?
While we have to wait until July 5th to learn more about how exactly Nicolas Cage is going to be adapted into the game, we can take some educated guesses as to how this collaboration will proceed.
Leaks appear to indicate that he will be a new survivor character, playing himself in the game. However, the “legendary” skins system likely means we could be getting skins of him in some of his most iconic horror roles (The Wicker Man, Mandy, Colour out of Space, Prisoners of Ghostland, Willy’s Wonderland, etc). No Ghost Rider as that’s a Marvel property, but they may just put him in a leather biker number that vaguely resembles his look in the film.
Cage also appears to be voicing himself and will likely have voice lines in the game, much like Bruce Campbell’s Ash Williams.
Additionally, Dead by Daylight was recently announced to be getting a film, produced by Blumhouse and James Wan of SAW, Insidious, and Conjuring fame, which could also indicate Cage has some kind of involvement in the project.
That’s just speculation, of course. But 24 hours ago, I never would have even guessed that Nic Cage would be in my favorite horror game.
So, I’m keeping my mind open and my hopes high for all that’s to come.
(featured image: Behaviour Interactive)
