Prime Video’s upcoming Spider-Noir show is a huge swing (no pun intended), but this hard-boiled Nicolas Cage-starring detective drama just might save the grand, failed experiment that is Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. The SSU, as it’s officially known (but no one actually calls it), is one of the more spectacular failures of the post-MCU cinematic universe craze.
After the blockbuster success of Venom, Sony went all-in on a series of movies centered around Spider-Man villains — and no Spider-Man in sight. They made a Morbius movie as a generic vampiric superhero actioner. They made a Madame Web movie as a very 2000s Final Destination ripoff. They made a Kraven the Hunter movie without the ultimate game he’s obsessed with hunting.
Custom image of Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven
In the past decade, Sony has had one big, undeniable, generational success with its Spider-Man properties. The Spider-Verse movies have revolutionized animation on the big screen, brought a fresh perspective to the superhero genre, and endeared audiences all around the world to underutilized Spider-people like Miles Morales and Gwen Stacy.
But instead of capitalizing on that success, Sony has been dragging its feet about expanding the Spider-Verse while greenlighting Venom sequels and solo movies for C-list villains left and right. With the release of Spider-Noir, Sony is finally giving Spider-Man fans what they want: more Spider-Verse stories, a unique approach to the genre, and, of course, Spider-Man.
Spider-Noir Will Redeem Sony’s Spider-Man Universe
Ben Reilly in Spider-Noir
After the three-year slog of Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter — three astoundingly terrible movies with clunky ADR in every other scene — Spider-Noir could finally redeem the SSU (it still doesn’t sound natural). Spider-Noir will see Cage reprising his role as a trenchcoat-clad P.I. version of Spidey from the Spider-Verse movies.
It’s not the exact same character in multiversal terms, but it’s taking everything that made Cage’s voice performance great and bringing it into a long-form live-action project. Cage’s brooding, grizzled, Bogart-inspired portrayal of the animated Spider-Man Noir is primed for a spinoff combining the pulpy thrills of a classic detective noir with the far-out spectacle of a comic book show.
Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Needs A Spider-Man
Cassandra Webb with a spider web in Madame Web
If there’s one thing that Sony’s Spider-Man Universe has been sorely lacking (besides competent filmmaking and decent writing), it’s Spider-Man. One day, film historians will look back on the baffling time that the studio that owned Spider-Man created a whole Spidey-based cinematic universe without Spidey himself.
Sony was free to bring back Tobey Maguire or Andrew Garfield, introduce a live-action Miles Morales, or just make their own Spider-Man movies, and instead, they chose to make a Kraven movie without Spider-Man and a Morbius movie with Jared Leto. If Sony brought in a corporate strategy consultant to figure out what’s going wrong with “Sony’s Spider-Man Universe,” they’d get a million-dollar check just for pointing out that it needs a Spider-Man.
Whether they continue Garfield’s Amazing Spider-Man series post-No Way Home or kickstart a live-action Miles Morales franchise, Sony needs to bring a Spider-Man into its Spider-Man Universe. Tonally and stylistically, Spider-Noir is very different — but it still has a Spider-Man, fighting crime and swinging around the skyscrapers of New York.
Spider-Noir Is Doing Something Radically Different With The Spider-Man Franchise
Ben Reilly standing on a rooftop in Spider-Noir
With its period setting, detective story, and middle-aged Spider-Man, Spider-Noir is doing something very different with the I.P. And that’s exciting, because the last time this team did something radically different with the Spider-Man I.P., we got a little movie called Into the Spider-Verse.
Spider-Noir’s release plan is unprecedented. Prime will release each episode in two formats: one in grainy, gloomy black-and-white harking back to the 1940s cinema classics that inspired the series, and one in lavish, Golden Age of Hollywood color.
The simultaneous release of color and black-and-white versions has never been done at this level before. We’ve gotten black-and-white versions of movies like Logan and Mad Max: Fury Road, but they’ve always been released as additional director’s cuts, not an alternative day-one viewing option. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg; it’s also the first live-action Spider-Verse project, and it’s Cage’s first starring role in a TV series.
Based on the trailer (which was also released in two color formats), the actor seems to be going full Cage in this series. He’s not phoning it in; he’s doing his best Bogart. Spider-Noir has a lot more superhero action than the classic noirs of the ‘40s and ‘50s, but Cage is acting like he’s in The Big Sleep or The Long Goodbye or Chinatown — and it could result in one of his best performances.
Sony could’ve gone with a much safer option for a live-action Spider-Man streaming series. They could’ve backed up a dump truck full of money on Tom Holland’s driveway, or cast an exciting young actor to play Miles Morales. But instead, they’re doing something completely different: a black-and-white (if you so choose) detective noir, starring Nic Cage.
Sony Needs To Take More Big Swings Like Spider-Noir
Ben Reilly swinging through New York in Spider-Noir
Sony needs to take more risks with its Spider-Man properties. From the Spider-Verse animated movies to the crossover with Marvel Studios, Sony’s biggest Spider-risks have yielded the biggest Spider-rewards. Spider-Noir might just be the answer to Sony’s Spider-prayers, because it’s their wildest creative experiment and biggest commercial risk yet.