Nicolas Cage series Spider-Noir brews superhero suspense with noir-style story 

LOS ANGELES – American actor Nicolas Cage says his new live-action series Spider-Noir will offer viewers a distinctive experience, with the option to watch it in black and white – “like an old movie” – or in highly saturated colour designed to heighten visual intensity.

The 62-year-old Oscar winner hopes the noir presentation will engage younger audiences who may be less familiar with black-and-white films.

Film noir, a 1940s American style, is known for its cynical protagonists, crime-driven plots and existential themes. Cage said he crafted his performance as the title character specifically for black and white, calling the dual-format release “a little revolutionary”.

The series, developed by American writer-director Oren Uziel for Prime Video, is based on the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man Noir. It follows an older, hard-edged Peter Parker – here named Ben Reilly – working as a private investigator in 1930s New York while confronting his past.

Cage, who voiced the character in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018), stars alongside Lamorne Morris as newspaper editor Robbie Robertson, Li Jun Li as nightclub singer Cat Hardy and Brendan Gleeson as Irish mob boss Silvermane.

After being inspired by the character’s popularity in Sony’s animated Spider-Verse films (2018 to present) by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, Uziel was keen to bring the American film-making duo on board as producers of Spider-Noir.

“I think that character really popped in those movies, and they were excited to try and create a standalone show for it,” he said.

Cage, Uziel and Gleeson all hope the show brings Marvel and noir audiences together, introducing younger viewers to the genre while drawing noir fans into the superhero world.

“I would hope it’ll open up a world for both directions,” Irish actor Gleeson, 71, said, noting his optimism that Spider-Verse fans will gravitate towards some noir films and vice versa.

Karen Rodriguez, who plays Reilly’s loyal secretary Janet, said that what sets Spider-Noir apart from other versions of the superhero is the era in which it is set.

“Normally, it’s a coming-of-age story and we’re meeting Peter Parker in a youthful setting,” she added. “But what happens when you’ve done it and life has happened to you and you suffered loss?”

Reilly, a World War I veteran who cannot afford to pay his secretary, is burdened by personal tragedy.

“He’s lost the love of his life. He’s smack-dab in the middle of the Great Depression. There’s a lot of suffering,” Rodriguez said.

For the actress, whose character maintains a constant push and pull with Reilly, working with Cage “was like a dream come true” as she learnt a lot from the leading man, who has more than 100 films to his credit.

“It’s the type of job that you dream about because you want jobs that are going to make you better,” said Rodriguez, who describes her character as a strong-willed woman who does not mince words.

Spider-Noir presents “a wholly unique perspective” as the genre is related to “what kind of danger is lurking around the corner”. She added: “And even the visual elements of noir are so evocative, the way the camera is framed.”

“You understand that (in this) world, you’re never really safe, and we really see it in the black and white, because we’re seeing people in shadow or in light, and the shadow is always there.” REUTERS, AFP