Nicolas Cage in (live) action as Spider-Noir

As questions about the future of superhero franchises continue to permeate the pop culture consciousness, one franchise that just keeps trucking is the Spider-Verse, the vividly animated films featuring Shameik Moore as the voice of Miles Morales, an alternate universe Spider-Man.

The first film, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, won an Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film, while the second film, Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, was nominated for the same award. The two movies have grossed over $1 billion together, and even as other superhero franchises flounder, Spider-Verse stays strong.

Now, though, it is offering the first real test of its franchise mettle: a TV spin-off. The trailer for Spider-Noir is here, a live-action series centered on Ben Reilly, another alternate Spider-Man, this one from a 1930s gumshoe story. Nicolas Cage, who voices Spider-Noir in the animated films, crosses over into live-action for his first lead role on television as the live-action Ben. The trailer comes in two formats, “authentic black and white” and “true-hue full color”. The series will be available to stream in both formats. The black and white version looks stunning.

The series also stars Li Jun Li, lately of Sinners, Brendan Gleeson, and Lamorne Morris, and will premiere all episodes on May 27. That’s a little bit of a bummer, if only because weekly drops allow for more excitement to build, and Spider-Noir is different enough from your average superhero slop that it might appeal to a broader audience, but now we’ll never really know.

The real hook isn’t superheroes, though, it’s Nicolas Cage, who describes the character of Spider-Noir as “70% Bogart, and 30% Bugs Bunny”. I will watch Nicolas Cage read a dictionary, such is his commitment to the bit, but the lure of Cage going even 30% Bugs Bunny is irresistible. There is a high potential for Spider-Noir to be completely wild. That it actually looks good is almost irrelevant because I am just here for Cage being Cage. But it DOES look good, like a superhero spin on a pulp detective show, which is a vibe I dig. I know superheroes are on life support, but honestly, as long as people keep throwing out weird stuff like Spider-Noir, I will keep tuning in. Will you?