When Nicolas Cage's Spider-Noir series is released, he won't take on the traditional Spider-Man moniker and will instead opt to go by an entirely different name. Spider-Noir will bring Nicolas Cage's Ben Reilly to life in live-action for the first time when it is released later in 2026 on MGM+ and Amazon Prime Video. The character, who was prominently featured in the animated Into the Spider-Verse film, will be taking viewers on a journey through a 1930s New York City universe.
Esquire recently gave fans a special look at the upcoming Spider-Noir series, and, in that exclusive look, it was confirmed that Cage's version of the web-slinger will be going by an entirely different name instead of being called Spider-Man. According to the piece, the character will simply be called The Spider.
The decision for Ben Reilly (aka The Spider) to go by this name was inspired by other popular characters and heroes in noir film culture. For instance, the titular characters from movies like The Shadow and The Spirit were specifically named as influences for the name change. It is worth noting that the creative team behind Spider-Noir also made the adjustment to simply pay respect to noir storytelling that has come before.
In an interview with Esquire, Cage himself talked about the past films, actors, and characters that inspired his take on Ben Reilly and the performance he will give in Spider-Noir. Throughout the interview, Cage named numerous famous noir actors and characters, but he specifically went back to comparing The Spider to The Shadow:
"[Deepening his voice.] 'Who knows what evil lurks in the hearts of men … The Shadow knows!' I loved all that."
The actor also went on to particularly name a radio drama series titled Radio Mystery Theater as something that he always "loved." Cage compared it to "reading a book," as listening to the radio shows forced consumers to "rely on [their] own imagination:"
"I even loved 'Radio Mystery Theater' with E.G. Marshall as the narrator. I used to listen to those radio shows even though I had a television set. You rely on your own imagination, not unlike reading a book."
Based on Cage's own words and what has been revealed about the series, Spider-Noir will try to keep itself as close to a true noir story as it possibly can. Even though it will be dealing with a superhero and a Variant of Spider-Man, Ben Reilly's version of the character will be unlike anything fans have seen before.
For instance, alongside going by a different name (The Spider), fans will also be able to see the entirety of the project in black and white instead of color if they choose (though a color version will be available as well), and Ben will wear a fully unique Spider-Man costume that has only ever been seen on-screen before in the Spider-Verse movie (Cage is rumored to return to that franchise in Beyond the spider-Verse).
When Will Spider-Noir Be Released?
Fans still have not learned exactly when Spider-Noir will be released. Instead, the only announcement that has been made by Amazon MGM Studios is that it will premiere sometime in 2026.
Past reports and rumors suggested that Spider-Noir could be released in the early months of 2026, and that is not out of the question, but if it were to be released sometime in February or March, it would likely already have a particular date attached to it.
It is worth noting that Cage revealed he had already watched all eight episodes of the show. It is unclear whether those were finished cuts of the episodes or if they were simply rough cuts (meaning that all of the VFX weren't finished yet), but that is at least a good sign that the show is either ready to be released or almost ready.
It is also worth mentioning that Esquire reporter Anthony Breznican (who interviewed Cage) also revealed that he had viewed the first two episodes of the show already, so that indicates that at least the first two episodes are completely finished with post-production.
If that is the case, fans could see Spider-Noir be released sooner rather than later. Fans should also remember that Spider-Man: Brand New Day will be premiering in July 2026, so it is possible that the studio will want to debut Spider-Noir around the same time as Brand New Day in the hopes that those projects will play off each other and draw in the same viewers.
