India, Oct. 1 -- Hollywood star Nicolas Cage has criticised the current direction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), saying the franchise has moved away from the character-driven storytelling of its early years and increasingly resembles a "well-funded and glorified WWE".

Cage, 62, made the comments during a conversation at Fan Expo Dallas, where he said he initially admired the way Marvel connected different characters and their backstories.

"It started out, in my view, terrific. Some of the early stories were marvellous, the way that they wove all the threads together and told the different character stories and backstories," Cage said.

However, he said the franchise's current emphasis on large-scale action and battle sequences ...