Before Tom Holland swings back into action in "Spider-Man: Brand New Day" at the end of July, Prime Video is sending a very different — and considerably older — Spider-Man into the fray.
With none other than Nicolas Cage in the lead role, the new eight-part series is now streaming on Amazon's platform as of May 27.
"Spider-Noir" blends superhero action from the Marvel universe with the brooding aesthetic of classic film noir.
At the centre of the story is Ben Reilly (Cage), a washed-up private detective with special powers. Unlike the classic Spider-Man Peter Parker, Reilly is disillusioned and gruff — clearly modelled on Humphrey Bogart's roles in "The Maltese Falcon" (1941) and "Key Largo" (1948).
"I really wanted to have a go, if you will, at a vision I had in my imagination of trying to create a pop art expression by colliding two very polar opposites," Cage said at the series launch.
He described the collision of film noir acting styles — referencing Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep" and Edward G. Robinson's performance in "Key Largo" — with "Stan Lee's masterpiece Spider-Man."
Cage said he wanted to know "what spark would be created" when he banged those two rocks together. If everyone committed to it, "something magical could happen, something both brand new and entertaining could happen in that collision."
New York in the 1930s
The story is set in the 1930s during the Great Depression. At the start of the first episode, viewers learn that Reilly once swung through the streets of New York City by night as the superhero The Spider, cleaning up the criminal underworld. After the death of his love Ruby, whom he could not save, Reilly gave up his dangerous double life. Since then, The Spider has been missing.
As a private detective, he is hired to track down a man with superpowers — specifically, the ability to turn into fire. The suspect has set the estate of crime boss Silvio Manfredi, alias Silvermane (Brendan Gleeson), ablaze. The name is misleading, incidentally: Manfredi is Irish, like actor Gleeson himself, rather than Italian as in the original comics — something unmistakable in the original-language version.
Reilly takes the case, well aware that Silvermane is a dangerous man. As he searches for the arsonist, his spider-sense keeps making itself felt. His investigations draw him into further entanglements, and it is not long before The Spider returns.
A perfect role for cult star Cage
In the 1990s, Nicolas Cage was the star of action hits such as "The Rock," "Con Air" and "Face/Off" — and won an Oscar for best actor for the drama "Leaving Las Vegas." After a career slump during which he turned down no project, no matter the budget, he reinvented himself from the 2010s onwards as a cult actor.
"I was ready to explore television — I had not done it until now," Cage said. He said he was hopeful that long-format television would give him "the luxury of time to drop little seeds" throughout a series.
It is a perfect role for Cage, who reins in the excess that has characterised many of his film performances in this, his first TV series. Yet the 62-year-old Hollywood veteran has held on to his near-absurd cool and extroverted expressiveness.
That, combined with his overall gruff manner, suits his 1930s detective well — a character to whom he previously lent his voice in the animated hit "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse."
Available in colour or black and white
"Spider-Noir" is available on Prime Video in two versions. For the full 1930s feel, the black-and-white version is recommended. Those who prefer something more contemporary can opt for the colour version.
Whichever version viewers choose, the classic aesthetic and deliberately old-fashioned style are a major part of the series' appeal. Above all, though, it is the enormously commanding and playful performance of Nicolas Cage that carries "Spider-Noir" for long stretches almost entirely on his own.