Nicolas Cage during the news conference for the movie "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans" at the Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto on Tuesday September 15, 2009. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn

TORONTO - Nicolas Cage says he dropped out of "The Green Hornet" film because of creative differences with star and screenwriter Seth Rogen and director Michel Gondry.

Cage discussed his decision while appearing at the Toronto International Film Festival to promote the darkly comic film, "Bad Lieutenant, Port of Call: New Orleans." He had been in talks to play the lead villain opposite Vancouver's Rogen, who will portray the masked crime fighter.

But Cage says he "wasn't interested in just being just a straight-up bad guy who was killing people willy-nilly."

He says Rogen and Gondry "had a different take on the character" and there wasn't enough time to develop the script.

Christoph Waltz of "Inglourious Basterds" has reportedly signed on to the role of Chudnofsky.

"'The Green Hornet' was something that I wanted to do, I think Michel Gondry is very talented and I had hoped it would work but I think Seth Rogen and Michel had a different take on the character," said Cage, who starred in 2007's supernatural comic book film, "Ghost Rider."

"I had to have some humanity and to try to give it something where you could understand why the character was the way he was but I don't think there was enough time to develop it."

"The Green Hornet" is slated for release in 2010.