Nicolas Cage Would Rather Be In 'Star Trek' Than 'Star Wars'

Actor Nicolas Cage has no plans to join the galaxy far, far away.

After starring with “The Mandalorian” star Pedro Pascal in the 2022 comedy “The Unbearable Weight Of Massive Talent,” many “Star Wars” fans were hoping that the two might eventually star together on-screen. Unfortunately, the “National Treasure” star says he’s “not really down” to appear in the Lucasfilm franchise.

The “Pig” actor promoted his new Western, “The Old Way,” in an interview with Yahoo Entertainment last week. “Game of Thrones” alum Pedro Pascal previously told the outlet that he was hoping to drag Cage into the “Star Wars” universe when the two were working together on “The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.”

However, it looks like Cage gave up the chance to swing a lightsaber around, telling Pascal that he is “not really down” to join the franchise. During his interview, the “Willy’s Wonderland” actor told the outlet that he’s a “Trekkie, man,” adding, “I’m on the Star Trek Enterprise. That’s where I roll.”

The “A Score To Settle” actor admitted that he has been a childhood Trekkie and continues to watch the latest films in theaters. “I’m not in the Star Wars family. I’m in the Star Trek family,” Cage said, adding, “I grew up watching Shatner.”

“I thought Pine was terrific in the movies. I think the movies are outstanding. I like the political and the sociological [messages],” he continued. “To me, what science fiction is really all about and why it’s such an important genre is that really you can say whatever you want, however you feel.”

“You put it on a different planet, you put it in a different time or in the future, and without people just jumping on you, you can really express your thoughts like Orwell or whomever in the science-fiction format,” he added. “And Star Trek really embraced that.”

It appears that Nicolas Cage is not alone in preferring “Star Trek” to “Star Wars.” Actor Simon Pegg, who has appeared in both, made an appearance on SiriusXM’s “Jim and Sam” radio show last summer (via Mediaite). During the interview, Pegg was asked what franchise has “the hardest fans to please.” Pegg quickly replied, “Star Wars.”

“To be honest — and as someone who kind of was, you know, kicked off about the prequels when they came out, the ‘Star Wars’ fanbase really seems to be the most kind of toxic at the moment,” Pegg said. “I’m probably being very controversial to say that.”

The “Hot Fuzz” actor admitted that he was once a “toxic” fan and apologized to Jar Jar Binks actor Ahmed Best for his previous comments in an earlier interview. “I’ve apologized for the things I said about, you know, Jar Jar Binks,” Pegg said.

“Because, of course, there was a f---ing actor involved. He was getting a lot of flack and … it was a human being," he added." And because it got a lot of hate, he suffered, you know, and I feel terrible about being part of that.”

However, he felt that “Star Trek” has more “inclusive” fans. “I find the ‘Star Trek’ fans have always been very, very inclusive, you know, ‘Star Trek’s’ about diversity. It has been since 1966, it always was,” the “Shaun of the Dead” actor said.

“There’s no sort of like, ‘Oh, you’re suddenly being woke,’” Pegg added. “No ‘Star Trek’ was woke from the beginning, you know? … This is massively progressive. ‘Star Wars’ suddenly there’s, there’s a little bit more diversity and everyone’s kicking off about it. And it’s, it’s really sad.’”

Pegg is referring to the controversy surrounding Emmy-nominated actor Moses Ingram, who played Reva in the “Obi-Wan Kenobi” live-action series.

After Ingram posted some hateful messages she received from so-called Star Wars fans in her Instagram Stories, the official Star Wars Twitter account tweeted, “We are proud to welcome Moses Ingram to the Star Wars family and excited for Reva’s story to unfold. If anyone intends to make her feel in any way unwelcome, we have only one thing to say: we resist.”

They added, “There are more than 20 million sentient species in the Star Wars galaxy, don’t choose to be a racist.”

“Obi-Wan Kenobi” star Ewan McGregor, who reprised his role as the titular Jedi from the prequel trilogy, also added his own statement to defend Ingram.

“It just sickened me to my stomach to hear that this has been happening,” he said. “We stand with Moses, we love Moses, and if you’re sending her bullying messages, you’re no ‘Star Wars’ fan in my mind.”