Spider-Noir Drops Two Days Early — Here’s When You Can Watch

Look, I’ve been tangled up in Spider-Man debates since the days of playground squabbles, and I’ll just say it upfront: the 1994 animated series still wipes the floor with Tobey Maguire, but that’s an argument for another day. What is interesting today, though, is this: Amazon has decided it’s high time Spider-Man got another live-action television go. This time, it’s something completely different—Spider-Noir—and yes, it’s the one with Nicolas Cage as a haggard, haunted private eye in a trench coat. I suspect this might be the most fascinating spin on Spidey we’ve had in years. Here’s everything you actually need to know, minus the marketing fluff.

Spider-Noir: Welcome to a Properly Weird Corner of the Spider-Verse

If you were keeping track, Spider-Man’s last live-action TV outing was way back in 1979, which is ancient history in superhero terms. Now Amazon’s having another crack, and not with your garden-variety web-slinger, but the Spider-Noir version—a distinctly grimmer and grubbier take.

Nicolas Cage cameos as Spider-Man in Into the Spider-Verse were genuinely hilarious; now, he’s got the full lead for all eight episodes. Picture this: Cage as Ben Reilly, a depression-era gumshoe, absolutely sick of people reminding him he used to be a superhero, stumbling through a rain-soaked New York. The series is produced by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller (they never miss, honestly) and it’s already sitting pretty with an 88% tally on Rotten Tomatoes before most people have even seen it. Not bad at all.

When and Where To Watch: It’s a Bit of a Maze

• Monday, May 25 (9pm EDT) – MGM+ Broadcast: All eight episodes drop at once. If you’ve got MGM+, you can get stuck in early and lord it over your mates for 48 hours.
• Wednesday, May 27 – Prime Video Worldwide: The full series goes live, binge-style, for everyone else. If you’re at the mercy of Prime Video, sit tight and try to avoid spoilers dumped on social media.

This strategy is a bit of a swerve for Amazon. Normally, their superhero shows (The Boys, Invincible) come out weekly, letting fans stew and speculate. Spider-Noir launches in full, which means everyone will be racing through it at their own speed. Could cut down on the episode-by-episode chatter, but I imagine word of mouth will be buzzing anyway.

Black and White, or in Colour? Your Choice

Let’s be honest, this is the sort of nerdy choice that’ll have film buffs tripping over themselves. When you start Spider-Noir, Prime Video lets you select between ‘Authentic Black and White’ and ‘True-Hue Full Colour’. Never seen that before with a Marvel project; it’s a bit daring.

'The colour is super saturated and gorgeous. I think teenage viewers will appreciate the colour, but I also want them to have the option—if they want to experience the concept in black and white, maybe that would instil some interest in them to look at classic films.' — Nicolas Cage, via Esquire

To be honest, if you’re a fan of old-school Hollywood—think Double Indemnity, The Big Sleep, The Maltese Falcon—the black and white cut is probably where you’ll want to start. The whole vibe is lifted straight out of those classic noir flicks, and Cage himself seems keener on that version.

The Plot: Brooding Spiders & Mobsters

The show revolves around Ben Reilly, an ex-superhero turned struggling private investigator, battered by New York’s underworld in the 1930s. He’s long since ditched the mask, but, as these things go, the city’s rogues leave him no choice but to get back in the vigilante game.

Here’s who’s in the mix:

• Silvermane (Brandon Gleeson): old-school Irish mob boss and main threat
• Robbie Robertson (Lamorne Morris): straight-talking journalist, Ben’s best mate, and responsible for most of the show’s decent jokes
• Jack Huston as Sandman: Yes, that Sandman, gritty as ever
• Man-Spider: Apparently, he’s so grotesque Marvel and Sony wouldn’t even let him into Brand New Day because he’d terrify the kids. Say no more.

Behind the scenes, Amy Pascal brought this take to Cage last year, pitching the idea of Ben Reilly as a blend of Spider-Man’s physicality and all the jaded, spiralling complexity Cage showed off in Adaptation. Pascal was the one behind both Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy and Adaptation at Sony, so she knows her Nick Cage eras. According to Cage, Ben isn’t so much a person as ‘a spider pretending to be a real person’. Watch the trailer and you’ll see what he means—it’s unsettling, but in the best way.