Callum Ward
One of the most well-received aspects of the acclaimed Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse was Nicolas Cage’s gloriously grizzled and goofy portrayal of a 1930s detective version of Spider-Man, known simply as Spider-Noir. Following on from the 2018 hit, fans have been longing for more time with the character, and their prayers have been answered with the upcoming Spider-Noir limited series, the first trailers (yes, plural) of which dropped just a few days ago.
The series, from creator Oren Uziel, sees Nicolas Cage step back into the role of Ben Reilly, AKA Spider-Noir, this time in live-action form. Cage will be accompanied by a stellar cast, including Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Jack Huston, and Brendan Gleeson, to name a few, and the new trailer shows us a glimpse of what we can expect from the show; in more than one format.
In classic noir fashion, an “Authentic Black & White” version of the trailer was released. However, there was also a “True-Hue Full Colour” version released at the same time, allowing audiences to choose what colourscape they’d rather watch the show in. Stylistically and tonally, the trailer is absolutely perfect. It captures that classic, unnerving and inquisitive nature of old-school noir flicks in an extremely fresh and exciting way.
Nicolas Cage is, of course, an absolute standout part of the trailer. His portrayal of Ben Reilly looks to be in equal parts cool as it is cuckoo, leaning into the character’s damaged psyche without ever fully tipping into parody. He brings a weary gravitas to the role, suggesting a Spider-Man who has experienced, and probably lost, an awful lot more than audiences have seen in the past. He is definitely a more benumbed and tired Spider-Man than we’re used to seeing, something confirmed by Spider-Verse creators and series producers Chris Miller and Phil Lord, who told Esquire, “He’s older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly. He already had his Chinatown disillusionment moment that happened years and years ago.”
In my opinion, this is exactly where the legendary actor excels—in the emotional cracks, chaos and quiet moments of existential weight beneath the mask, and I for one can’t wait to see what the series has in store for us!
The full series of Spider-Noir arrives on Amazon Prime Video on May 27th this year—with both colour and monochrome editions releasing simultaneously—offering fans of the Spider-Verse films an opportunity to revisit the fan favourite character before the third instalment in the franchise releases next year!
