Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir show is shaping up to be Marvel’s strangest Spidey yet

Amazon’s upcoming Spider-Noir series has sharpened its release plans while quietly stacking its cast with some recognisable Spider-Man heavy hitters, and it sounds like this could be one of the stranger, moodier takes on the web-slinger we’ve seen yet.

Fresh details about the live-action Spider-Verse spin-off come via Esquire, which spoke with showrunner Oren Uziel, producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller, and leading man Nicolas Cage. The series is now eyeing a spring 2026 debut across MGM+ and Prime Video and will lean heavily into its distinctive visual identity, blending both black-and-white and full colour depending on how viewers choose to watch it.

Set in 1930s New York, Spider-Noir follows Cage as Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator who just so happens to be the city’s only masked hero. Unlike most Spider-Man adaptations, this isn’t a Peter Parker variant slipping on the suit. Instead, the series focuses on one of Marvel’s more complicated characters, and arguably one of its most interesting.

For anyone not fully caught up on decades of tangled comic-book lore, Ben Reilly is a clone of Peter Parker, introduced during Marvel’s famously messy ‘Clone Saga’ storyline in the ‘90s. While he shares Parker’s powers, memories and general do-gooder instincts, Ben has always been defined by feeling like a spare part. In the comics, he typically operates as the Scarlet Spider, a slightly rougher and more world-weary version of Spider-Man, which makes him a natural fit for a noir detective setup. He’s a bloke who already feels disconnected from his own life, now wading through crime-ridden New York while trying to outrun his past.

That past is set to come back in a big way. The series will see Reilly investigating assassination attempts targeting crime boss Silvermane, played by Brendan Gleeson, in what sounds like a classic detective setup that spirals into something far bigger. Uziel describes the story as one where multiple cases begin to blur together, dragging Reilly into a conflict he’d rather steer well clear of.

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Along the way, Spider-Noir will also bring in a handful of familiar Spider-Man faces. Jack Huston is set to appear as Flint Marko, better known as Sandman, though it’s still unclear whether he’ll possess the sand-shifting powers fans will recognise. Li Jun Li will play Cat Hardy, better known as Black Cat, adding a traditional noir femme fatale element into the mix.

Cage is no stranger to the character either, having previously voiced Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and it sounds like he’s leaning into a similarly offbeat performance here. The actor described his take as being “70 per cent Humphrey Bogart and 30 per cent Bugs Bunny,” which feels about right for a show already balancing pulpy detective drama with comic-book weirdness.

The decision to focus on Reilly rather than Parker was deliberate. According to the creative team, Peter Parker’s association with teenage coming-of-age stories didn’t quite fit the hardboiled detective angle. Reilly, on the other hand, arrives older, jaded, and already carrying emotional baggage, the sort of man who’s had his illusions shattered long before the opening credits roll.

Alongside Cage, Gleeson, Li and Huston, the supporting cast includes Lamorne Morris as Daily Bugle reporter Robbie Robertson and Karen Rodriguez as Reilly’s secretary Janet Smart, helping round out what looks like a properly stacked ensemble.

Spider-Noir is currently scheduled to land on MGM+ and Prime Video in spring 2026.

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