Spider-Noir star Nicolas Cage says he didn't sign an AI waiver for his Prime Video superhero show.
Cage played Ben Reilly in the show, which was released earlier in the year and will not be returning for a second season.
"How do you survive AI? Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of 50 billion dollars invested to OpenAI," Cage commented at NYCC, via The Hollywood Reporter. "I am not an AI-friendly actor... I didn't sign the waiver to let them use AI on Spider-Noir. It's kind of like I'm probably not going to be working with that studio again. But that's OK. So I got to get with these young directors who are Gen Z, and they're going at it their own way, whether it's through the YouTube culture or whatever it is. They're doing it from scratch and by hand. I want to get with that."
While Cage says he likely won't work with Amazon again as a consequence of his anti-AI stance, no official reason for the cancellation has been revealed – though a report from Deadline indicates Spider-Noir's viewership was good, but not massive.
"For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man," Cage said in response to the cancellation. "Onwards, upwards, inwards."
Spider-Noir was well-received critically, netting a near-perfect Rotten Tomatoes score of 92%. Our own Spider-Noir review awards the show 3.5 stars and reads: "A delightfully camp, low-stakes romp through 1930s New York City that proves Nicolas Cage is still cooler than all of us. Though it doesn't feel as big as most Marvel shows, or even Spider-Verse, and suffers from predictable plot turns that even the characters don't seem fazed by... it wants to cure your superhero fatigue, and it's even better on the second watch."
Spider-Noir is streaming on Prime Video now. In the meantime, check out our guide to all the most exciting upcoming shows left in the year.
