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A fresh look at Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly/Spider-Man in Spider-Noir has arrived, showing off a pulpy take on the Spidey variant, who first appeared in 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, also voiced by Cage. And according to the man himself, he's bringing his usual eccentricity and intensity to the role, channeling both classic film noir vibes and even some cartoonish antics.
"For me, this character was 70 percent Bogart, and 30 percent Bugs Bunny," Cage tells Esquire. "I was basically Mel Blanc doing Bogart, with that sarcastic sense of humor. But it's a hundred percent me."
"You'll see some other influences start to emerge as well. I did look at Cagney, and I looked at Edward G. Robinson," Cage continues. But when you watch Bogart and you watch everybody around him, he almost seems like a cartoon character. The same thing happens here. But it's brilliant and you can't take your eyes off the guy. It's what makes him so compelling and charismatic. He just didn't sound like anybody else. It almost seemed larger than life."
I'll be real, 70 percent Bogart, 30 percent Bugs Bunny, and 100 percent Nicolas Cage is a formula that is absolutely selling me on Spider-Noir, if only for the spectacle of how Cage brings Ben Reilly to life. I'm getting serious Darkman vibes, and that's high praise.
The series will also stream in black and white and in color, so you pick which way you watch it, or even mix and match. Personally, I think I'll be streaming the black and white version - it's a film noir after all. You can see examples of both versions in the image gallery below:
Spider-Noir premieres some time this year, though Amazon MGM hasn't given a specific release date just yet. We do know it will arrive first on the MGM+ app before hitting Prime Video just a day later.
For more, check out our list of the best Spider-Man movies, and stay up to date on all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows that are currently in the works.
