Nicolas Cage recently starred in Spider-Noir, the first live-action Spider-Man series to stream on MGM+ and Prime Video thanks to Sony's deal with Amazon. Reviews were positive, but the show was cancelled after one season due to low viewership.
Spider-Noir allowed Cage the opportunity to reprise his role from the animated Spider-Verse movies. However, he suited up as a different Variant of the hard-boiled web-slinger—"Ben Reilly"—in a show that took quite a few liberties with the source material.
That drew some complaints from fans, but during a recent appearance at Fan Expo Dallas, Cage made his feelings about the Marvel Cinematic Universe known, and they were harsher than any Spider-Noir grumblings.
"I do say this with love," Cage started. "When I see these 50-plus, otherwise intelligent, remarkably gifted thespians putting on these ridiculous outfits and getting ready for the fight—and let's face it, it's cutting all to the fight—it's hard for me not to be reminded that the MCU is becoming a well-funded and glorified WWE."
That's a scathing assessment, and a little hypocritical in the eyes of some fans, given that Cage and Spider-Noir did exactly that in the Prime Video series. While the MCU has an issue with throwing everything but the kitchen sink into a blockbuster's final act, many Marvel Studios movies and TV shows haven't gone down that route.
However, like any comic book arc, the thinking is that these stories should end with an epic final battle, and anything other than that could be deemed a let-down by audiences.
Cage previously issued a brief statement on Spider-Noir's cancellation, saying, "For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man. Onwards, upwards, inwards."
As noted, the series was expensive to produce and didn't make a huge impact with viewership, making it a relatively easy decision for the streamer. The timing of the axe being dropped was surprising on Amazon's part, however, as the axe fell just two days before Spider-Noir won five awards at the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmys.
Spider-Noir is a live-action series based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir. It tells the story of Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), a seasoned, down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life, following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.
All episodes of Spider-Noir are now streaming on Prime Video. You can hear Cage's comments in full below.