With Nicolas Cage playing a new version of Spider-Man in the upcoming Spider-Noir series, the actor will break Tobey Maguire's record for playing the oldest live-action Spider-Man seen on screen. When Maguire appeared in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, he was 46 years old, and Cage will be 62 years old upon the release of Spider-Noir on Amazon Prime Video on May 25.
Via details shared by Marvel and co. via a feature from Esquire, Spider- Noir showrunner Oren Uziel explained that often, "Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid," and to tell the darker story they were going for, they needed an older, more pessimistic version of Spider-Man:
"Peter Parker feels very synonymous with a high school kid. Boyish. On his way up."
Producer Chris Miller described Cage's Ben Reilly (a name most commonly known as a Spider-Man clone in Marvel Comics) as "older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly:"
"This character's very different from the Peter Parker from the movies. He's older and jaded, and not afraid to punch a guy in the face drunkenly."
Producer Phil Lord agreed, adding that Ben has "already had his Chinatown disillusionment moment years and years ago."
As Uziel put it, Ben Reilly "has seen it all:"
"Ben Reilly has already gone through the entire arc and has seen it all. He’s over it, and trying to move past it ... But his past kind of keeps coming back to haunt him. It's just a different version that we haven't seen before."
Cage's Ben Reilly is at the helm of the upcoming MGM+ and Prime Video series Spider-Noir, which will release both in black-and-white and in color.
How Old Were All the Other Live-Action Spider-Man Actors?
Note: Since exact filming dates are difficult to pin down, ages listed are upon the release of a given project.
Tobey Maguire (Ages Upon Project Releases: 26, 29, 31, 46)
Before Nicolas Cage, Tobey Maguire was the oldest actor to play Spider-Man in live-action. He played one of the Peter Parkers in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home, which was released when Maguire was 46 years old. Before that, Maguire's appearances as Spider-Man were in 2002's Spider-Man (age 26), 2004's Spider-Man 2 (age 29), and 2007's Spider-Man 3 (age 31).
Andrew Garfield (Ages: 28, 30, 38)
Andrew Garfield, Spider-Man in the second cinematic Spider-Man saga, including The Amazing Spider-Man and its sequel, also appeared in 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home. Garfield was 28 upon the release of The Amazing Spider-Man in 2012, 30 upon the release of The Amazing Spider-Man 2 in 2014, and 38 upon the release of Spider-Man: No Way Home in 2021.
Danny Seagren (Ages: 30-33)
Danny Seagreen was the first actor to ever play Spider-Man in live-action, having appeared as Spider-Man on The Electric Company from 1974 to 1977. Seagreen was 30 upon the release of Season 4, Episode 1 (his first appearance as Spider-Man), and 33 upon the release of Season 6, Episode 130B (his final appearance as Spider-Man).
Nicholas Hammond (Ages: 27-29)
Nicholas Hammond played Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man television series, which ran for two seasons from 1977 to 1979. Hammond was 27 upon the release of the first episode of The Amazing Spider-Man in 1977, and 29 upon the release of the final episode in 1979.
Shinji Todo (Ages: 23-24)
Playing Spider-Man (alter-ego motorcross racer Takuya Yamashiro) in the Japanese series Supaidâman, Shinji Todo portrayed the superhero from 1978-1979. He was 23 upon the release of the show's 1978 pilot and 24 upon the release of its 1979 finale.
Tom Holland (Ages: 19, 21, 21, 22, 23, 25, upcoming: 30)
Coming up on 11 years since his debut at as Peter Parker in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, Tom Holland is the youngest actor to play Spider-Man in live-action, having first played the role at 19. He then appeared in 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming at age 21 as well as 2018's Avengers: Infinity War, 2019's Avengers: Endgame at 22, Spider-Man: Far From Home later that year at 23, and 2021's Spider-Man: No Way Home at 25. He will be 30 upon the release of Spider-Man: Brand New Day on July 31.
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
