As someone who covers a huge amount of streaming news most weeks, it takes quite a lot to surprise me – I've seen countless shows launch with ominous teasers, first-look images and overhyped press releases in my time. That said, I think it's worth spotlighting the fact that Prime Video just announced something that sets a pretty bold new precedent.
Taking the wraps off its highly-anticipated adaptation of Spider-Noir, the campy noirish spin on the classic Spider-Man story that gained a lot of popularity when its main character featured in Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse a few years ago, Prime Video's doing something I've never seen before. It's going to release the show in two distinct versions at the same time: one in black and white, the other in full colour. There's even a trailer for each version.
The one above, as you'll have gathered by now, is the black and white version, but I've also embedded the "true-hue" version below, so that you can compare and contrast them like I've been doing. They're identical in terms of shot-for-shot order, so it really is just down to visual presentation.
I have to say, my gut instinct is that the black and white version looks the most interesting and seems to gel with the tone of the show best, but the fact that it's available in colour confirms that it was shot in colour, which can tend to make black and white presentation less perfect.
I have to say, my gut instinct is that the black and white version looks the most interesting and seems to gel with the tone of the show best, but the fact that it's available in colour confirms that it was shot in colour, which can tend to make black and white presentation less perfect.
Regardless, this is something I've never seen before, and feels like a really fun and interesting move for Prime Video to make around this particular show. After all, while Nicolas Cage is always a fun draw in some ways, his track record on projects is also extremely spotty, so it's fair to say that another reason to watch Spider-Noir is a welcome and safer bet.
To give you a little more context, of course, the show will centre around Ben Reilly (Cage), a private investigator with a devastating backstory who seemingly gets bitten by a suspicious spider in classic Spider-Man style.
Unlike Peter Parker or Miles Morales, though, he takes a more brutal approach to cleaning up the city he lives in – as a few brief glimpses of fights and other action make clear. He's probably going to have to chase down at least one conspiracy, too, giving us plenty of time to see Cage going full crazy mode, which is what he's generally best at.
The series drops on Prime Video on 27 May, a couple days after a premiere on MGM+, so you've got a few months to decide whether you'll be watching it in colour or not.
