The first official images of Spider-Noir present the new project starring Nicolas Cage as a unique aesthetic and narrative commitment that dialogues with classic cinema, comics and the Spider-Verse.
As Esquire revealed in a report published on February 10, the series — which will premiere this spring on MGM and will be available on Prime Video — proposes a detective story set in New York in the 1930s, with two different visual versions: one in black and white and the other in color, designed to coexist and offer complementary experiences.
The project is headed by Oren Uziel as showrunner, along with Steve Lightfoot, and is produced by Phil Lord, Chris Miller and Amy Pascal, key figures of the cinematic Spider-Verse.
According to Esquire, Spider-Noir was conceived from the beginning as a series with a double visual identity.On the one hand, a black and white version that emulates the monochrome look of the police classics of the 40s;on the other, a color version reminiscent of the saturated panels of Marvel comics.
“The truth is, they both work and are beautiful for different reasons. The color is super saturated and beautiful. I think teenage viewers will appreciate the color, but I also want them to have the option,” Nicolas Cage told the magazine.
He added: “If they want to experience the concept in black and white, maybe that will make them interested in watching older films and enjoying them as an art form.”
Although Cage had already voiced Spider-Noir in Spider-Man: Into theSpider-Verse (2018), this live-action version introduces a key change: the protagonist is not Peter Parker.
In the series, Cage plays Ben Reilly, a veteran detective who acts under the alias “The Spider”, a reference to pulp heroes of the time such as The Shadow or The Spirit.
The choice responds to the logic of noir.”Peter Parker feels very much like a high school kid. Young. On the rise,” Uziel explained to Esquire.
Instead, Ben Reilly allows you to explore a disenchanted hero, marked by failure and cynicism.“He had his Chinatown moment of disappointment years and years ago,” Phil Lord explained.
In Uziel’s words, this Spider-Noir “has already been through the entire arc and seen it all. He’s fed up and trying to move on, but his past keeps coming back to haunt him.”
Cage, for his part, described his performance as “70 percent Humphrey Bogart and 30 percent Bugs Bunny”: a combination of rudeness, irony and unexpected humor.
The Spider-Noir universe is completed with a gallery of classic characters from the Marvel imagination, reinvented under noir codes.One of the pillars is Robbie Robertson, played by Lamorne Morris.
In this version, Robbie is still a journalist, but he works as a freelancer, traveling around the city looking for stories.He is also a friend and collaborator of Reilly.“They are both researchers,” Uziel explained.“The difference is that Robbie thinks everything is going to turn out well, while Ben thinks everything is going to turn out badly. His cynicism is the opposite force to Robbie’s optimism.”
Another central character is Janet, Reilly’s secretary, played by KarenRodriguez.Although she doesn’t come directly from the comics, Janet embodies the film noir tradition.
“She’s never going to let Ben get away with anything, but she cares deeply about him,” said Uziel, who called the Ben-Janet-Robbie trio “a little three-headed team that’s always solving cases their own way.”
The share of mystery and seduction comes with Cat Hardy, a nightclub singer played by Li Jun Li, a clear reinterpretation of the figure of Black Cat. Uziel described her as a mix of classic cinema icons: “She’s Rita Hayworth… and a little bit of Lauren Bacall, because Bogey and Bacall work so well together”, with echoes also of Kim Basinger in L.A.Confidential.
The plot revolves around Silvermane, a mafia boss played by BrendanGleeson, the victim of repeated assassination attempts.The investigation leads Reilly into a larger conspiracy, with characters like Flint Marko (Jack Huston) and an arsonist capable of setting fires with his bare hands.
At the moment it is known that the Spider-Noir series will premiere on streaming in the spring of 2026. There is still no exact release date.
