The first season of Spider-Noir hasn't even hit Prime Video yet, but showrunner Oren Uziel is already thinking of ideas for season 2 and its late '30s setting.
Based on the Marvel comic of the same name, the upcoming live-action series is set in New York City in 1933, at a time of mobsters and dames, rising crime, and financial depression. Amongst the grime, it is up to Nicolas Cage's down-on-his-luck private investigator Ben Reilly to restore balance as he recovers from a personal tragedy.
However, Spider-Noir's setting means that future seasons would explore the Big Apple's descent into the Second World War, which officially kicked off in 1939.
"One thing I love about the genre is that when you have a private detective, all it takes is a knock on the office door and a new client walks in… Whether it’s New York or a different setting, I really feel like this is a great jumping-off point to expand your story," said Uziel in the latest issue of SFX Magazine. "Obviously, as time passes from 1933, we’re heading towards not just trouble in the financial markets in New York, but also a geopolitical struggle that would be an amazing canvas for any future storytelling."
Operating in a city preparing to go to war shouldn't faze the veteran web-slinger, as Spider-Noir is not an origin story. The first season will pick up years after Reilly abandoned his double life as a hero, as a personal loss forces the Spider to settle into a retirement of sorts. As the New York crime rate surges, the PI spends his time spying on folk and outing adulterers. Uziel states that "middle-aged" Ben Reilly is a stark contrast to the bright-eyed Peter Parker we see on the big screen.
But even before the war, New York was no picnic. From the Great Depression to mobsters still pocketing from the prohibition, there is plenty to draw a Spider out of the shadows. "It gives you so much built-in conflict and drama to work with,” said Uziel. "The city was going through extremely hard times…it’s fertile ground for a city in crisis, but a city that’s very much still alive."
It looks as though the Spider will have no choice but to save the city, as the first Spider-Noir trailer gave us a taste of just a few villains the Marvel hero will have to face, from Electro to Sandman. Almosgide Cage, Spider-Noir also stars Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, and Brendan Gleeson
Spider-Noir is due to arrive on Prime Video from May 27. For more, check out our lists of the best Amazon Prime movies and the best Amazon Prime shows.
