Around this time last year, we got word that Sony Pictures was developing a live-action Spider-Man Noir series for Amazon Prime Video, and the show may have found its lead.
According to The Ankler, Nicolas Cage (Ghost Rider, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent) is in "serious talks" to return as a live-action take on the hero after voicing him in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse.
The untitled series (we assume it'll be called Spider-Man Noir) will reportedly follow an "older, grizzled superhero in 1930s New York City. The show will be set in its own universe and the main character will not be Peter Parker."
Of course, the comic book incarnation of Spider-Man Noir is an alternate universe version (or Variant) of Peter Parker, but this project may have decided to give the character a different identity to avoid confusion.
Oren Uziel will serve as writer and executive producer on the show, with Into the Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and former Sony boss Amy Pascal also on board as executive producers.
Uziel is known for penning romantic actioner The Lost City, along with the likes of 22 Jump Street, Mortal Kombat, and The Cloverfield Paradox. He's also has writing credits on John Wick: Chapter 4 and the upcoming Borderlands video game adaptation.
Sony/Amazon are still moving forward with a Silk: Spider Society series from showrunner Angela Kang, but we found out earlier today that the project has let go of its entire writers room (Kang is still on board) and may be "refocused with a more male-skewing audience in mind."
Cage didn't reprise the role of Noir for the recent Across the Spider-Verse, but is expected to return for the final film in the animated trilogy, Beyond the Spider-Verse.
The character was mostly utilized as comic relief in Into the Spider-Verse, but the comics are significantly darker, so it'll be interesting to see which direction this live-action show goes in.
"Spider-Man Noir, often simply referred to as Noir, is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Part of the Marvel Noir universe (Earth-90214), this alternate version of Spider-Man is a noir-themed take on the character and emerges in a version of New York during the Great Depression. While investigating a smuggling ring, Peter Parker is bitten by what seems to be a highly-venomous spider housed inside a spider-god idol. Falling unconscious, Parker has a vision of the spider-god promising him power. He then awakes inside a cocoon and emerges from it, now possessing super-human abilities similar to a spider."