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Nicolas Cage is making his big return to live-action superhero media in the upcoming Spider-Noir streaming series, which flashes back to a pulpy, film noir style that separates Cage's Spider-Man, Ben Reilly, from his mainstream counterpart, Peter Parker.
With Spider-Noir set to release in just a few months, we're now getting our first hints at the show's plot, including some new images and even a first trailer. It's all shaping up to be a very different entry in the Spider-Man film canon, with a darker story anchored by Cage's portrayal of Spider-Man, which is said to be as intense and eccentric as many of his performances. Still, it remains to be seen how Spider-Noir might stack up to the best Spider-Man movies of all time.
Article continues belowSpider-Noir release date
Spider-Noir will release May 25 on MGM+, arriving on Prime Video just two days later on May 27. All episodes of Spider-Noir will release at once, perfect for binge-watching. The series will be available to stream in both black and white and full color.
Spider-Noir trailer
The first trailer for Spider-Noir released on February 12, showcasing Cage's performance as Ben Reilly/The Spider as he finds himself drawn into the tangled web of his own past. Keep your eyes peeled for some quick cameos from classic Spider-Man characters.
Spider-Noir cast
The Spider-Noir cast is led by Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly – not Peter Parker – a retired hero who was once known as The Spider, who left his double life behind after tragedy struck. Cage has described his performance as "70 percent Bogart, 30 percent Bugs Bunny."
Joining him as a potential ally or adversary is Li Jun Li, who plays lounge singer Cat Hardy. She is seemingly Spider-Noir's adaptation of Felicia Hardy, the Black Cat, a highly skilled thief who has an on-again-off-again relationship with Spider-Man, even as the pair are often at odds.
Spider-Noir will be going toe-to-toe with Brendan Gleeson's crime boss Silvermane, another character adapted from comics. In mainstream Marvel continuity, Silvermane is an aging mob boss who attempts to achieve immortality by turning himself into a nigh-invincible cyborg.
Curiously, Jack Huston portrays Flint Marko, better known to Marvel Comics fans as The Sandman. Given the pulpy nature of Spider-Noir, it seems unlikely he'll have his usual shapeshifting powers. There's likely to be some other interpretation of his nickname, but anything is possible.
The rest of the cast so far is as follows:
- Nicolas Cage – Ben Reilly/Spider-Noir
- Li Jun Li – Cat Hardy
- Lamorne Morris – Robbie Robertson
- Brendan Gleeson – Silvermane
- Jack Huston – Flint Marko
- Karen Rodriguez – Janet
- Abraham Popoola
- Lukas Haas
- Cameron Britton
- Richard Robichaux
Spider-Noir plot speculation
Spider-Noir deals with Nicolas Cage's Ben Reilly coming out of retirement as The Spider when his tragic past comes calling. According to showrunner Oren Uziel and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Spider-Noir will be much darker than many other Spider-Man stories, and not just because it will stream in both black and white and color.
"Ben Reilly has already gone through the entire arc and has seen it all. He's over it, and trying to move past it," Uziel tells Esquire. "But his past kind of keeps coming back to haunt him. It's just a different version that we haven't seen before."
"In all the great detective stories, you have two cases that sort of come together, and you realize you're actually working the same thing," Uziel continues. "He's a guy getting dragged into a much larger fight that he doesn't really want to be a part of. Silvermane is the big bad, but what's happening to Silvermane connects back to Ben's past and gets him spiraling deeper and deeper into his own origins."
According to star Nicolas Cage, we'll see both Ben Reilly's past and his future, which will connect to each other in unexpected ways.
"There's an actual reason, an origin story, why Ben talks the way he talks. But you'll get to that in a later episode," Cage says. "It starts to go down different paths and really evolves into some surprises. So I hope you enjoy."
Lamorne Morris plays Robbie Robertson, a journalist who fights for the truth against all odds. In mainstream comics, Robbie Robertson serves much the same role as an ally of both Peter Parker and Spider-Man. Karen Rodriguez, meanwhile, plays Ben Reilly's faithful secretary Janet, who becomes an important part of The Spider's crimefighting efforts.
Is Spider-Noir connected to the Spider-Verse movies?
Nicolas Cage voices Spider-Man Noir in the animated Spider-Verse movies, playing a key role in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. It's still unclear whether Spider-Noir will connect directly to the Spider-Verse movies, but there are some known differences.
Most importantly, Cage's animated Spider-Man Noir is an alt-reality version of Peter Parker who exists in a noir-themed universe, while Cage's live-action version is not Peter at all, but Ben Reilly, who goes by The Spider in his hero guise. Ben Reilly is a name that comes from comics, where it's used by a clone of Peter Parker who becomes his own version of Spider-Man.
It seems unlikely that Cage's Spider-Noir version of Ben Reilly will be a clone, though. The show's creators have explained that the use of the Ben Reilly name is to separate the character from Peter Parker, as Cage's Ben is much older and more hardboiled than the usual optimistic, youthful Peter.
While we wait for Spider-Noir, check out our guide to all the other new TV shows of the year that you need to know about. Or head on over to our guide on all the upcoming superhero movies and TV shows also set to release this year.
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