Prime Video

Spider-Noir First Trailer Unleashes Nicolas Cage's Hero in Striking Black-and-White and Color

Spider-Noir First Trailer Unleashes Nicolas Cage's Hero in Striking Black-and-White and Color
Image credit: Legion-Media

Capes are about to blanket pop culture: Supergirl and Spider-Man: Brand New Day blaze into summer, Avengers: Doomsday storms December, and Avengers: Endgame returns to theaters — while Prime Video readies Spider-Noir to stalk the small screen.

Big year for capes on the big screen, sure — Supergirl and Spider- Man: Brand New Day are lining up for summer, Avengers: Doomsday lands in December, and Avengers: Endgame is even getting a rerelease — but TV is not sitting this one out. Prime Video just dropped the first trailer for Spider-Noir, and it looks like the stylish, smoky detour the Spider world has been missing. It hits streaming May 25.

The trailer: moody, punchy, and released in two flavors

Prime put out the teaser in two cuts — one in what they call "Authentic Black & White," the other in "True-Hue Full Color." Yes, they actually released two versions of the trailer, and yes, it works. We get our first proper look at Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, aka The Spider, prowling a 1930s New York that looks like it was dipped in cigarette ash and neon.

  • The Cat connection: The footage leans hard into the dynamic between The Spider and Cat Hardy (Li Jun Li) — essentially this universe's spin on Black Cat — with a flirty, dangerous back-and-forth that fits the noir vibe.
  • Villains on deck: Quick but sharp glimpses of this world's Sandman and Megawatt trading blows with The Spider, plus a clean look at Brendan Gleeson as the crime boss Silvermane.
  • The vibe: Slick and sultry, with hard-boiled narration energy and brutal, close-quarters fights. It sells the era without feeling like a museum piece.
  • The hook: Cage looks born for this trench coat. It is also, somehow, both exactly what you expect from him and a fresh lane.

What the series is actually doing

Spider-Noir is a live-action series inspired by Cage's scene-stealing Spider-Noir performance from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, but this time he is front and center — his first time leading a TV show. Here, Cage plays Ben Reilly/The Spider, an aging private investigator who moonlights as a masked vigilante in 1930s New York while wrestling with a past that will not stay buried. He is cynical, a little beaten down, and very plugged into the city's criminal underbelly — which is exactly where a character like this belongs.

Quick note for the continuity-minded: calling him Ben Reilly is a neat twist. Traditionally, Ben Reilly is a different corner of Spider lore; pairing that name with a noir PI take and renaming Black Cat to Cat Hardy is a very this-universe thing — and it gives the show some wiggle room to remix familiar pieces.

Cast and characters

Alongside Cage and Li Jun Li, the series features Lamorne Morris, Jack Huston, Brendan Gleeson (as Silvermane), Abraham Popoola, and Karen Rodriguez. The trailer focuses on the core triangle of The Spider, Cat Hardy, and Silvermane, but Sandman and Megawatt are clearly in the mix for some knuckle-dusting.

Why this matters (and why it might actually hit)

On paper, Spider-Noir is a serious swing. There really is not anything quite like it in current live-action superhero TV — a period-set, hard-boiled detective story with a Marvel mask on top. Also worth saying out loud: Sony's recent non-Spidey Spidey-adjacent outings — Morbius, Madame Web, Kraven the Hunter — have not exactly lit the box office on fire. If this show lands the way this first trailer suggests it could, it opens the door for weirder, riskier Spider stories in live action. Frankly, that is the lane they should be driving in anyway.

When and where to watch

Spider-Noir premieres May 25 on Prime Video. If you want the full effect, try the "Authentic Black & White" trailer first, then jump to the "True-Hue Full Color" cut. Same story, different flavor — and both look sharp.