Spider-Noir TV creators explain why Nicolas Cage's Spider-Man is "jaded" Ben Reilly instead of "boyish" Peter Parker

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"He's older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly"

Spider-Noir aiming his webshooter
(Image credit: Amazon MGM Studios)

Spider-Noir showrunner Oren Uziel and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller say there's a very good reason why Nicolas Cage is playing Ben Reilly instead of classic Spider-Man Peter Parker in Amazon MGM Studios' upcoming Spider-Noir streaming series. As it turns out, it all comes back to the need for the show to have the same hardboiled feel as classic film noir shows, with Peter representing a level of optimism that Spider-Noir doesn't have.

"This character's very different from the Peter Parker from the movies. He's older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly," Miller tells Esquire, with Lord adding, "He already had his Chinatown disillusionment moment that happened years and years ago."

George Marston
George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

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