2026's live-action Spider-Verse project will copy DC's Snyder Cut release plan when it comes to MGM+ sometime next year. After making his debut as the crime-solving Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Nicholas Cage will once again don the mask, bringing the character to life in the new live-action Spider-Noir TV series. This new show will see Cage's wall-crawler PI solving mysteries on the small screen in a rough-and-tumble 1930s New York City.
As confirmed by Amazon MGM Studios, the new Spider-Noir series will draw inspiration from Zack Snyder's Justice League to achieve maximum grittiness, releasing in two distinct versions: one in color and one in black and white. This is exactly the same release plan that the Snyder Cut took when it made its debut on HBO Max in March 2021.
After months of fan campaigning for the four-hour Justice League cut to see the light of day, it finally did with a full color release as well as a 'Justice is Grey' black-and-white version, offering fans two different Snyder Cut experiences.
Spider-Noir will do the same, leaning into its crime noir origins, its black-and-white version, while also giving fans the option to watch in full color for those looking for a little more saturation in their viewing experience.
Fans may remember that Nicholas Cage's web-slinging character previously existed as the lone black-and-white character in the animated Spider-Verse movies. So, it would make sense that his TV series (which is set to focus on the same actor playing very much the same character) offers the authentic Spider-Noir experience in some form.
Spider-Noir is set to premiere on MGM+ sometime in 2026. The new series, starring Spider-Verse actor Nicholas Cage, follows a down-on-his-luck private investigator working as New York City's only superhero in a crime-riddled 1930s. The series was originally shot with black-and-white cameras, but has been colorized for its alternate full-color release.
Why Black and White Is Perfect for Spider-Noir?
There is just about no hero more perfectly fit for black-and-white than Nicholas Cage's Spider-Man Noir.
The character is deeply rooted in the crime noir stories of the 1940s, following morally gray heroes looking into grisly crimes with a specific focus on the idea of corruption within the system they are working in. Spider-Noir draws explicit inspiration from film noir, embracing the trenchcoat-wearing, eternally dreary tropes of the genre.
Audiences got a taste of this in the animated Spider-Verse movies (of which a third is set to release in 2027). Cage's hero was a transatlantic amalgam of all the genre's stereotypes, making for some fun comedic moments when paired with the rest of the film's Spideys.
His take on the character will seemingly be a little more mature in 2026's Spider-Noir, telling a true noir story set within the Marvel Multiverse. Making it black and white is just another way to honor the gritty crime stories that it takes its biggest inspiration from.
Sure, coloring technology has come a long way since the days of those original film noir titles, but using the antiquated technology is an explicit artistic choice, with the show's lack of color representing the shades of gray fans can expect in its wall-crawling Spider-Man story.
