Spider-Noir has a high bar to clear. After all, the show has roots in what is widely considered to be one of the best animated movies of the century in Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, and that’s the kind of thing that can set expectations super high. Ultimately, we don’t know what kind of experience the series will deliver until it arrives for Prime Video subscribers in late May, but this brand new trailer is certainly letting me keep my hopes high.
Before going any further, however, I should note that there are two different versions of the debut Spider-Noir trailer. The Black & White teaser is above, but you can also scope out the True-Hue Color version below (the dual release reflecting the two different formats in which the show will be released):
Not too much is revealed plot-wise in these previews, but we are introduced to some rad period-reflective style and protagonist Ben Reilly: a veteran private investigator trying to bounce back from a personal tragedy who moonlights as a masked, wall-crawling guardian of 1930s New York. While the work is particularly riffing on the classic elements of the film noir genre (chiaroscuro lighting, detective protagonist, a femme fatale, etc.), it’s also not shying away from comic book action, as there are plenty of superpowers on display, and not just web-slinging.
The show marks the first time that Nicolas Cage has been the lead of a small screen series, but it doesn’t appear that the medium change is having too big of an impact on his performing instincts. While he is masked, that clap-and-snap moment around the 56 second mark is pure unfiltered Cage, as is the shot at 1:04 with him sitting on the bed with his arms raised zombie-style. The actor has previously described the character as “70 percent Humphrey Bogart, and 30 percent Bugs Bunny,” and I love that I can already see that come through in this super brief preview
Co-starring Lamorne Morris as Robbie Robertson, Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, Karen Rodriguez as Janet, Jack Huston as Flint Marko, and Brendan Gleeson as the villainous Silvermane, Spider-Noir sports Oren Uziel (22 Jump Street) and Steve Lightfoot (The Punisher) as its co-showrunners, and completed production last spring. Folks who want to get an early look at the show will be able to do so when it premieres on MGM+’s linear broadcast channel on Monday, May 25, but all eight episodes will be made available to stream on Prime Video starting on Wednesday, May 27. As noted, audiences will be able to enjoy them in black and white or color… and should you feel inclined, you can even go back and forth watching both.
