Those who couldn’t help but love him in his previous appearances in “Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse” and “Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse” will certainly be excited to see what’s in store for us in “Spider-Noir,” the live-action television series produced by Sony and Amazon/MGM inspired by the 1930s version of the New York wall-crawler.

Starring Nicholas Cage , who already lent his voice to the superhero in the first animated film, the show will follow a different narrative direction than the one taken with the original Peter Parker, delving into the era of the Great Depression to reveal crimes and adversities still unknown to the general public.

Spider-Man Noir was born from the 2009 “noir” themed comic book line by Marvel Comics, an alternative genre where the plots of the most characteristic Marvel characters have been rethought in a hardboiled/crime noir key. There are some similarities and differences with the classic Spider-Man in his origins: even the Peter Parker of the 30s, for example, was raised by Aunt May and Uncle Ben, and in this case too Peter will lose his uncle in a dramatic way.

However, in the Spider-Noir universe, Uncle Ben is violently killed by the Goblin, in retaliation for a strike against his companies. This will push Peter to discover the truth about the dynamics that led to the death of his beloved relative . Another substantial difference is the drug addiction that his uncle suffers from: an aspect that aligns with Peter's research until he is bitten by a spider behind which hides a divine entity, giving him the superhuman powers that we all know.

From the first information released, however, it seems that the development house is allowing itself considerable creative liberties: apparently, Nicholas Cage will have the name of Ben Reilly instead of the traditional Peter Parker, and will take on the role of a private investigator . More faithful, however, seems to be the work done on the costume, which recalls the one known in the comic inspired by Uncle Ben's aviator uniform. The few details currently available on the plot were revealed in the official synopsis: "We follow Ben Reilly, a private investigator, as he fights against the rampant corruption in 1933 New York, and at the same time we discover his past as a superhero. Reilly investigates the death of Edward Addison, which leads him to discover that the mayor is plotting something nefarious involving the crime boss Silvermane and the femme fatale Yuri Watanabe".

Cage's cast includes Karen Rodriguez, Lamorne Morris, Brendan Gleeson, Abraham Popoola, Li Jun Li, and Jack Huston. Jun Li is rumored to be playing the villain Wraith, while Brendan Gleeson is likely to play Silvermane. Other villains have also been confirmed, including Sandman.

Among the recent news is the confirmation that Amazon will aim to maintain a 1930s aesthetic for the show, and based on the latest information released by actor Lukas Haas, it could even be distributed in two different formats: in color and in black and white. This choice could not only give further contribution to the artistic and narrative value of the project, but set a precedent that inspires productions to expand the offering for the public.

Speaking about the commitment to maintaining the high quality of the black-and-white images, Haas said in an exclusive interview: “It was an incredible project. Everyone involved was amazing. Especially Brendan Gleason, who plays my boss. It was a real period noir, a real film noir, the way they shot it, like the long shadows and a lot of the things that gave it that feel.”

And on the feeling of authenticity the final result conveyed, he added: “We shot it in black and white and in color, but when we shot it the monitors were all in black and white; so, it had this feeling and it felt very, very authentic. To the point where, when I went to look at the monitor I felt like I was looking at old footage, but it was actually just a monitor of what was on camera at the time. They did a great job with the filters and everything, making it feel like a real black and white film from the 1930s. But obviously the writing and Nic are incredible as well. It’s a really fun project and I can’t wait to see what the finished product looks like.”

John Scanu

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