Check out details about Nicolas Cage’s live-action ‘Spider-Man Noir’ series, including the costume design, and Cage’s unique take on the character.
The superhero landscape of Marvel is coming with a noir twist as Nicolas Cage plunges into New York in the 1930s. It will be the first time that Spider-Man Noir will be moving from animation to live-action. Cage, who has already voiced the character in Sony’s Spider-Verse series, is now going to introduce this version of the superhero in MGM+’s upcoming series.
Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Credit: Sony Pictures
The series is set to offer a superhero action genre mixed with the noir detective drama. As shooting has already begun last year, fans have caught the first look at Cage in costume, and one thing is clear: what’s on the way will not only be a memorable chapter in Cage’s career but also in Spider-Man’s on-screen adaptations.
Everything we know about the Spider-Man Noir series
Spider-Man Noir | Credit: Marvel.com
Spider-Man Noir is created by showrunners Oren Uzziel and Steve Lightfoot for MGM+. It is a noir detective show of an old-school private detective who is the only superhero in the 1930s of New York in an alternate universe. Planned to be comprised of eight episodes, the show will first premiere on MGM+ before releasing it globally on Prime Video.
The official premise reveals that Nicolas Cage’s character, Ben Reilly, discovers a series of corruption while investigating the death of Edward Addison. These proceedings take the character to expose the Mayor’s evil connection with crime boss Silvermane and femme fatale Yuri Watanabe. The series also has an interesting cast that includes Lamorne Morris, Brendan Gleeson, Li Jun Li, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston, and Karen Rodriguez.
Vernon Sanders, head of television for Amazon MGM Studios, showed interest in the project, saying (via Variety),
The extremely talented Nicolas Cage is an ideal choice for our new superhero,and the accomplished producing team with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, Amy Pascal, and the incredible team at Sony is dedicated to expanding this franchise in the most authentic way.
The production began in August 2024 and is expected to wrap up in February 2025. With a refreshing take on Spider-Man mythology, Spider-Man Noir seems to be something fans would like to see from their favorite superhero.
Nicolas Cage’s look as Spider-Man Noir
Nicolas Cage | Credit: Vanity Fair YouTube
This version of Spider-Man has a look of his own, unlike the regular Spider-Man adaptations. Its outfit derives influences from both Spider-Man and Batman. He wears a ski mask, goggles, combat boots, a black trench coat, and a fedora, which is like the trademark of the character.
TMZ has shared some set photos that offered fans their first glimpse of Cage wearing the Spider-Man Noir suit. The pictures reveal him sitting on the roof of an old car during an action scene. Fans have been rooting for the show since the on-set images have appeared online.
More behind-the-scenes photos shared by Just Jared included images of Cage during a lunch break in the Los Angeles shoot. The actor looked quite authentic in a dark green overcoat, gray suit, and black fedora that defined the noir aesthetic of his civilian persona in the show.
Some story-related aspects have also been teased through set photos, such as pictures of Cage holding a Daily Bugle newspaper with the headline “Silvermane Survives in Skivvies.” The high-speed chase sequence and other scenes hint towards a detective story along with superhero action.
The costume design looks very accurate in reference to both the comics as well as the animated Spider-Verse series. The primary difference is observed in the goggles that look more oval and less shiny than the animated ones. This adaptation retains the bold image of an all-Black character but makes it believable in the 1930s New York setting.
The noir setting would be the reason for the drastic shift from the classic Spider-Man costumes. This version is set in an alternate universe in the Great Depression. As a result, it needs to be darker and more historically accurate. Basically, the character is grittier, more cynical, and more mature as compared to the traditional superheroes.
Nicolas Cage’s take on Spider-Man Noir
Spider-Man Noir with Spider-Ham in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse | Credit: Sony Pictures
Cage’s involvement with Spider-Man Noir began with his voice work in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Now, to take on the live-action version, it is his first regular television role in the entire span of his career.
In his interviews with The New Yorker magazine, Nicolas Cage stated that he always wanted to do a Golden Age take on the character.
I mean, the fantasy would be that I could try to aspire to be something more Golden Age. I wanted to have that kind of aura, you know, like the more enigmatic, you don’t know too much.
He also clarified his concerns over television work, saying that such projects are a concern due to their fast-paced production schedule. In another interview with Collider, Cage said,
It’s no secret that I love the character. I think the character provides another mash up of sorts. I can combine my favorite golden age performances, i.e. Robinson, Cagney, Bogart, with a character that is, I guess, widely considered [to be] Stan Lee’s masterpiece. I see it as a kind of foray into a pop art mash up of, sort of, a [Jungian] Lichtenstein, mash up by way of Bogart and Cagney, but nothing’s definitive yet.
Although many fans are waiting for Spider-Man 4 to hit the cinemas in 2026, Spider-Man Noir seems to be striking out on its own course in 2025. The series will exist beyond its connection to both MCU and Spider-Verse films so that they can create their own storyline without going by the norms of a larger connected universe.
