Nicolas Cage joins the Dead by Daylight roster, and I have concerns

The premise of Dead by Daylight is simple: Four survivors try to escape the clutches of one evil killer, doomed to repeat the cycle over and over whether they live or die. The game’s newest character is a pretty unusual pick — it’s real-life actor Nicolas Cage. He doesn’t appear to be playing any of his iconic roles, like Castor Troy from Face/Off or Edward Malus from The Wicker Man. He’s just regular ol’ Nic Cage, and he seems pretty calm about his fate.

Dead by Daylight takes place in a hidden realm between realities, a nightmare world ruled by the dark spider-like god known as the Entity. The Entity lures new victims in and ensnares them in fog, pulling them into its realm to serve as either a terrified survivor or brutal killer.

The premise of Dead by Daylight is broad enough that it serves as a Super Mario Smash Bros.-style collaboration for horror franchises. There’s a Cenobite, a bunch of Resident Evil characters, Silent Hill stars, and classic horror slashers like Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers on the roster alongside all the game’s own original characters. But this is the first time there’s ever been an actual celebrity included in the game, although Nicolas Cage is probably the most obvious choice for the unlikely role.

The Entity doesn’t discriminate in its selection process. It has captured talk show hosts, musicians, tech CEOs, K-Pop stars, and CIA codebreakers. And now it’s apparently captured Nicolas Cage, presumably when he was a survivor, although the circumstances of his capture are unknown. He doesn’t seem super happy to be caught in the Fog, but maybe it’s a nice break from his regimen of Batman costume maintenance and feature filming.

Behaviour Interactive shared a short teaser with Cage, showing his in-game model. We’ll find out more about his addition to the game on July 5. I hope he holds up alright in the Fog; it’s not a very nice place. He needs to be protected from the Entity and all the terrible killers out there. On the bright side, if Behaviour ever makes another Dead by Daylight dating sim, we may be able to smooch Nicolas Cage.

Update (June 8): Nicolas Cage made a surprise appearance at Summer Game Fest 2023 to reveal his role as a Survivor in Dead by Daylight. He will play a character named “Nicolas Cage,” an actor. Here’s Nic speaking with Summer Game Fest host Geoff Keighley about his cameo in Dead by Daylight.