As Prime Video's live-action Spider-Man Noir (now titled Spider-Noir) series continues to cast its supporting players, some surprising new details on Nicolas Cage's take on the Depression-era wall-crawler have come to light.
Possible spoilers follow.
We already knew that Cage would not be playing a version/variant of Peter Parker, and while this does appear to be the case, his character will reportedly have a very interesting connection to the iconic Marvel Comics superhero.
According to Daniel Richtman, Spider-Noir will actually be Ben Reilly.
In the comics, Reilly was a clone of Parker who went on to take up the mantle of Scarlet Spider. We're not sure how much (if any) of this origin will remain, but given the show's setting, we'd say Cage's character will be Ben Reilly in name only.
Here is logline.
"Amazon Prime is set to bring a fresh twist to the Spider-Man saga with their upcoming show. Breaking from tradition, this series will feature Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, rather than the iconic Peter Parker."
The series will reportedly follow an "ageing and down on his luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero."
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.
Cage didn't reprise the role of Noir for the recent Across the Spider-Verse animated sequel, 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.
Brendan Gleeson was recently cast as a villain. We're not sure which one, but the Sandman has been rumored to appear.
"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."