Nicolas Cage finally takes the lead in a television series, and he's doing it inside a Spider-Man mask. Spider-Noir, the live-action Marvel show built around his hard-boiled detective version of the character, lands globally on Prime Video on May 27, 2026. The eight-episode run dropped domestically two days earlier on MGM+'s linear broadcast channel on May 25, but for streamers, the full binge arrives Wednesday at 12 a.m. PT/3 a.m. ET in the U.S.
This is Cage's first leading role in a TV series, and the show pulls him back into a character fans already loved. Back in 2018, he voiced Peter Parker/Spider-Man Noir in the Oscar-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Eight years on, he's playing the live-action version, this time named Ben Reilly, in a story built specifically for him.
What Spider-Noir Is About
The series is based on the Marvel comic Spider-Man Noir, and it strips the superhero genre down to its bones and dresses it in a trench coat. Forget spandex and skylines. This is Marvel filtered through the lens of Raymond Chandler, with Depression-era grime, fedoras, and fists doing the heavy lifting.
Cage plays Ben Reilly, a weathered, down-on-his-luck private investigator working the streets of 1930s New York. He used to be the city's one and only superhero, known simply as "The Spider." Then a deeply personal tragedy pushed him into retirement and the ordinary-man act. Only an extraordinary case could pull him back. The show asks a simple, brutal question: what does a hero look like when the world has already chewed him up and spit him out?
Executive producer Phil Lord, who along with partner Chris Miller produces and writes the Spider-Verse films, has pushed back on the idea that this is going to be a downbeat slog. He's described the show as a big character drama, an amazing mystery, and big event television that still manages to be light on its feet.
The Black-and-White or Color Choice
Here's the part that genuinely sets Spider-Noir apart from anything else on TV right now: you get to pick how you watch it. Prime Video is releasing the series in two complete versions, "Authentic Black & White" and "True-Hue Full Color," letting audiences choose their own adventure. Prime Video even released separate trailers for each version.
The dual-format release was partly Cage's own idea, and it gives the show a visual identity nothing else on the small screen can really match. You can watch it as a straight period noir, full of shadow and jazz and corruption, or in vivid hues that bring 1930s New York to life.
The Full Cast
The supporting cast is loaded. Here's who's in the main lineup:
- Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly/The Spider, the aging private eye dragged back into action
- Lamorne Morris as Robbie Robertson, a dedicated journalist trying to make it in 1930s New York against the odds, and Reilly's best friend
- Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, the star attraction at the city's premier nightclub, with more going on than she lets show
- Karen Rodriguez as Janet
- Abraham Popoola as Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone
- Jack Huston as Flint Marco/Sandman
- Brendan Gleeson as Silvermane, the ruthless crime boss
The guest star list runs deep too: Lukas Haas, Cameron Britton, Cary Christopher, Michael Kostroff, Scott MacArthur, Joe Massingill, Whitney Rice, Amanda Schull, Andrew Caldwell, Amy Aquino, Andrew Robinson, and Kai Caster.
Who's Behind the Show
Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot are co-showrunners and executive producers. They developed the series with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal, the award-winning trio behind the Spider-Verse franchise. The series is produced by Sony Pictures Television exclusively for MGM+ and Prime Video, and it's rolling out as a global binge release in more than 240 countries and territories.
How It Connects to the Spider-Verse Movies
Short answer: it doesn't, not really. Cage is playing the same character he played in the Spider-Verse films, but Spider-Noir is a completely self-contained story separate from Sony Pictures Animation's movie series. No multiverse required. You don't need to have seen the animated films to follow along, and nothing in this show feeds back into them.
What carries over is the spirit of the character. That gruff, whiskey-soaked, world-weary detective who became a fan favorite in Into the Spider-Verse now gets a full eight episodes to breathe, brood, and throw punches.
How to Watch on Prime Video
Prime Video is included in your Prime membership, which costs $14.99 a month or $139 a year. There are discounted options that give you the same benefits at half the price: Prime for Young Adults (ages 18–24) and college students, plus Prime Access for people who qualify through government-assistance programs. If you've never tried it, free trial sign-ups are available too.
All eight episodes drop at once on May 27, so binging is on the table from day one.