Nicolas Cage is Marvel's Spider-Noir, and he thinks the MCU has become 'a well-funded and glorified WWE'
Spider-Noir star Nicolas Cage has had a pop at the MCU’s love of big punch-ups — with a comparison that’s anything but superheroic.
Superhero films these days practically require an army of VFX artists and a wrestling-sized stage for their big endings. Nicolas Cage, never shy with an opinion, has stepped into the ring to call that out—quite literally—during his latest Fan Expo appearance. The bloke’s just started his run as Spider-Noir on Prime Video and MGM+, but don’t expect him to join the MCU’s endless parade of capes and CGI punch-ups any time soon.
Cage told the Fan Expo crowd: 'Let’s face it, it is cutting all to the fight.' He added it’s 'hard for me not to be reminded' the MCU is sliding into 'a well-funded and glorified WWE.'
Cage wasn’t mincing words: he reckons the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s formula is starting to resemble more of a wrestling spectacle than a film series. He pointed out that you’ll see '50-plus' genuinely good actors all dolled up in, well, sometimes daft-looking costumes, just waiting around for the next choreographed brawl to kick off. In his view, the genre’s best talents are being funnelled straight into the fight scenes—no subtlety about it.
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Noir by Name, Noir by Nature
While Cage’s Spider-Noir does technically draw from Marvel, it’s worlds apart from the juggernauts of the MCU proper. Spider-Noir launched on Prime Video and MGM+ back in May 2026, with Cage donning the trenchcoat rather than Spidey’s classic spandex—playing an older Peter Parker, dragging his battered morals through the 1930s New York underworld. Sony’s behind this one, rather than Marvel Studios, so there’s no cross-pollination with the Tom Holland movies or the familiar MCU crossover chaos.
Spider-Noir dropped on streaming in May 2026, showing off its black-and-white noir style—plus an option for full-colour episodes if you’re not quite ready to commit to monochrome melodrama.
This series leans hard into the gritty, moody aesthetics of old detective films, ditching the usual Marvel fireworks for shadowy back-alleys and a proper noir vibe. Cage already knows the role—he voiced Spider-Noir in both Into the Spider-Verse and its sequel—but this time, it's all him, front and centre, not hidden behind animation. The black-and-white look cements the show’s difference from the MCU’s ever louder and glossier action fare.
As Cage steps further into the Marvel world (albeit through a Sony-shaped side door), he’s clearly got little time for blockbuster trends that, these days, can end up feeling more WWE than comic book. Not everyone in Hollywood is ready to swap punchlines for body slams just yet.
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