Prime Video’s Upcoming Detective Action Series Will Be So Good, You’ll Have To Watch It Twice

While there are some excellent detective TV shows to watch on Prime Video, the streaming platform’s upcoming show is set to be unlike anything we have seen before. Virtually everyone can recognize Spider-Man and his iconic outfit, even if they are not familiar with every Spider-Man ever, but the film-noir detective-inspired series Spider-Noir gives him an entirely new look and tone.

Spider-Noir is a version of the superhero from a 1930s timeline, in which Spider-Man is more of a detective character. The premise gives us one of the most interesting and distinctive versions of Spider-Man, and if the upcoming Prime Video series gets the tone right, Spider-Noir could revive the detective noir genre that has fallen out of fashion in recent years.

Table of Contents

How Spider-Noir Ties Into Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

Ben Reilly with a mask on in Spider-Noir

Despite several retcons and many alternative timelines, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse introduced canon events as the lore of Spider-Man has grown more complex over time due to the franchise’s multiverse concept. In the movie Into the Spider-Verse, the gritty film-noir detective-inspired Spider-Noir is introduced as one of several alternate versions of Spider-Man pulled into Miles Morales’ dimension.

Spider-Man Noir was first introduced in Marvel Comics’ Spider-Man: Noir #1, in February 2009.

As a comic book character, Spider-Noir was a novelty, introducing an unlikely genre to the Spider-Verse, but through his distinctive narration style and fascination with a Rubik’s cube, he stole every scene in Into the Spider-Verse despite having very little screen time. The character has some hilarious moments, but he is more than just comic relief, drastically changing our idea of what Spider-Man could be.

While Miles is navigating the harder parts of becoming a superhero, Spider-Noir represents a drastically different reality. He is the world-weary Nazi-fighting vigilante who is just as likely to sigh “I’m getting too old for this” as he is to use his webs. Through introducing a different tone to the usually-colorful franchise, Spider-Noir expands the Spider-Verse’s possibilities even further.

Spider-Noir Has One Of The Most Exciting Casts In A Superhero Show

Nicolas Cage voiced Spider-Noir in Into the Spider-Verse, and he is reprising his role for the Spider-Noir TV series. As he brings his signature eccentricity to the role, it is impossible to imagine another actor taking on the character that Cage made his own, and producer Phil Lord told Collider that Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Man plan is horrifyingly perfect.

Nicolas Cage is not the only exciting Spider-Noir cast member. There are at least five Marvel villains confirmed for Spider-Noir so far, and the actors must be able to convey the darker tone. This should not be a problem for Brendan Gleeson, who plays the formidable Silvermane, and is known for playing the kind of gritty and morally complex characters that are film-noir genre staples.

Spider-Noir also stars Lamorne Morris, who was widely praised for his role in Fargo, Jack Huston, who played an assassin in Boardwalk Empire and will now play the antagonistic Sandman, and Li Jun Li, whose role in Babylon was inspired by the silent movie actress Anna May Wong. The cast’s experience with dark subject matter makes it the most exciting superhero show cast yet.

You’ll Probably Have To Watch Spider-Noir Twice

Most entries in the Spider-Verse require a second watch, and if Spider-Noir is as good as it looks set to be, then it is certain to be even better on a rewatch. This is not just due to the Easter eggs that will likely appear. Spider-Noir rewrites the rules of television by being released in black and white as well as color.

Cage told Esquire Magazine that he hoped viewers watching the black and white version might be inspired to “seek out earlier movies and enjoy that as an art form as well.” The streaming format has allowed shows to take bigger creative risks, and Spider-Noir offering different creative styles will likely mean that fans will want to experience both versions, effectively watching the show twice.

Source: Collider , Esquire Magazine