Nicolas Cage’s upcoming Spider-Noir series drops the Spider-Man name for its lead hero. The creators reimagine the Marvel universe through a 1930s noir lens and choose not to refer to the character as Spider-Man in the show.
Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly isn’t named Spider-Man in the Spider-Noir Series
In Spider-Noir, Nicolas Cage plays Ben Reilly, not Peter Parker, marking a shift from his earlier role in Into the Spider-Verse. The series calls his masked persona “The Spider,” deliberately echoing pulp heroes like The Spirit and The Shadow.
According to Esquire Magazine, the change in identity was driven by narrative tone and character fit. Showrunner Oren Uziel said, “Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid. Boyish. On his way up.” Reilly’s character, in contrast, allows for a noir-appropriate protagonist who is “older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly,” as executive producer Phil Lord stated. Co-producer Chris Miller added, “He already had his Chinatown disillusionment moment that happened years and years ago.”
This version of Ben Reilly is “a guy whose hero complex has collapsed into a mid-life crisis,” Uziel says. “Ben Reilly has already gone through the entire arc and has seen it all. He’s over it, and trying to move past it. But his past kind of keeps coming back to haunt him.” Chris Miller confirms that the series explains the name directly, saying, “The reason he’s named Ben Riley is explained.”
The production presents Spider-Noir in both black and white and in color. Uziel states the color version “looks like a black and white film that’s been kind of colourised.” Lord and Miller branded the color treatment “True-Hue,” with its own logo and font.
The series debuts in spring 2026 on MGM+ and Prime Video, set in 1930s New York. Supporting characters include Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris), secretary Janet (Karen Rodriguez), and nightclub singer Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li), a nod to Felicia Hardy. Brendan Gleeson plays mob boss Silvermane, with Jack Huston as Flint Marko.
Originally reported by Anubhav Chaudhry on SuperHeroHype.com.
