Nicolas Cage has been spotted in character as Ben Reilly on the set of the Marvel-inspired Prime Video series Spider-Noir
Longlegs star Nicolas Cage voiced the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man Noir in the animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and we’re going to have the chance to watch him play the character in live-action in the upcoming MGM+ and Prime Video series that’s going by the title Spider-Noir. That show is currently in production, and Cage has been spotted on set. Images of him can be seen in the Instagram embeds below – but before you scroll down, I’ll warn you that you shouldn’t expect to see Cage in the full Spider-Man Noir costume in these images. The spy pics only show him wearing a trenchcoat, with no sign of his mask.
Spider-Noir has Cage taking on the role of an aging and down on his luck private investigator in 1930s New York who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero. The show is expected to consist of eight 45 minute episodes. Cage has said, “One of the things that I like about this potential show is that it’s fantasy. It’s not really people beating people up. Monsters are involved.“
Cage’s character is Ben Reilly: A retired superhero with the powers of Spider-Man who is too old and broken, both figuratively and literally, to suit up the way he used to. Instead, he takes low-level PI cases and stays out of the ones that involve high-profile names, like that of the Mayor. Through flashbacks, we find out about his past heroics, and past failures, that led him to this point. He is charming, but weathered, and the pilot does an excellent job of setting him up for a good character arc moving forward.
Cage is joined in the cast by Brendan Gleeson as the villain, Li Jun Li as a singer at a high-end nightclub, Abraham Popoola as a World War I veteran, Jack Huston as a bodyguard, Lamorne Morris as journalist Robbie Robertson, and Karen Rodriguez in an unspecified series regular role. A while back, we got our hands on a batch of character breakdowns.
Spider-Noir comes to us from Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) and Steve Lightfoot (Marvel’s The Punisher), who serve as co-showrunners and executive producers. Harry Bradbeer (Killing Eve) is directing and executive producing the first two episodes. Uziel and Lightfoot developed the series alongside Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal, the team behind the Spider-Verse movies. Lord, Miller, and Pascal also serve as executive producers on Spider-Noir.
Are you looking forward to Spider-Noir? Take a look at these images of Nicolas Cage on set, then let us know by leaving a comment below.