Phil Lord & Chris Miller Talk “Different Universe” Spider-Noirs [Exclusive]

In May 2026, Amazon Prime and MGM+ will host the Prime Video release of an exciting new Marvel series, Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir. Set in 1930s New York City, the show features Cage portraying the live-action version of Ben Reilly, an aging private detective who struggles with handling his past experience as the city’s only superhero, simply called the Spider. Notably, Cage previously voiced the animated version of Spider-Man Noir for Sony Animation in the hit 2018 movie Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and he’s expected to reprise the role in 2027’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

With Cage portraying both of these high-profile iterations of the trench-coated Spider-Man, fans are intrigued to find out what makes them similar to — and/or different from — one another. As the show’s release date inches closer and its promotional tour adds new material for fans to enjoy, some of those questions are being answered.

Speaking exclusively with MovieWeb during the press tour for Project Hail Mary, Spider-Verse writers/producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller addressed the differences between the animated and live-action Spider-Man Noir characters. While Lord described him as being “flesh and blood,” Miller spoke about him being from “a different universe” but having “a lot of the same ideas” Cage brought to the original animated version of the web-slinger:

Lord: “Well, he’s flesh and blood.”

Miller: “He’s a live-action character, but he’s a little bit different. He’s a different universe version of Spider-Noir, but it’s a lot of the same ideas that Nic brought to the character and is bringing to this version of the character.”

How Live-Action Spider-Noir Differs from Spider-Verse

While Nicolas Cage brings his own unique energy to both Spider-Noirs, the live-action version coming in Spider-Noir will be a more three-dimensional character. As shown in the first trailer for the Prime Video project, Cage brings a much more human feel to the role than we saw in the animated Spider-Verse story. While he may not let matches burn down to his fingertips “just to feel something,” this new version has plenty of his own anomalies, which are sure to lead to some wild antics.

Additionally, with the live-action setting, this show will also give fans a chance to see a more adult and mature version of the character than the Spider-Verse movies could deliver. The trailer teases him beating up a gang of enemies in a bar before getting “plastered,” suggesting a darker and more unhinged side to the character that hasn’t been explored in past Spider-Man projects.

This is further supported by the fact that Spider-Noir received a TV-14 rating, just a notch below TV-MA on the “adult content” scale. This marks the first time any Spider-Man show has received this type of rating, as all previous series starring the wall-crawler were rated TV-Y, TV-Y7, or TV-PG.

While story details for the series are still being kept under wraps, it seems safe to assume we’ll see a different side of this corner of the Spider-Verse movie, along with some scarier and more powerful villains for Ben Reilly to fight.

Spider-Noir starts streaming on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and then on Amazon Prime Video starting on May 27, 2026.