GoKawiilSpider-Noir, the live-action TV series about a Spider-Man variant in the 1930s, premieres this Wednesday on Prime Video. Led by Nicolas Cage, who voiced Spider-Man Noir in the animated Spider-Verse films, the show dips into Marvel comic book lore and centers on an entirely different version of the web-slinging hero. He's not an alternate version of Peter Parker, he's Ben Reilly in this universe -- aka Spider-Noir.
It's a unique, standalone story helmed by showrunner Oren Uziel that's separate from all the other Spider-Man movies and shows that already exist (nope, it's not a spinoff of any kind). That gave the creative team the opportunity to introduce Spider-Noir's multiversal cast of characters. While Cage brings a sense of familiarity to the show in a fresh way, the series also includes Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, Jack Huston as Sandman and Abraham Popoola, who plays Tombstone.
Leaning heavily into the mystery crime-drama style of noir, Spider-Noir lets viewers get acquainted with villains and antiheroes whose names may ring a bell thanks to Sony's movies or Marvel comics. Yet, after watching all the episodes, I can say, despite a few familiar character names, it's a take we haven't really seen before -- it's mature and suspenseful, with complicated relationships and conflicted criminals.
Still, it's another way to see Marvel characters and mythology manifest on screen, and Li, Popoola and Huston had distinct reasons for why they were attracted to their roles.
Abraham Popoola as Tombstone, Jack Huston as Sandman and Andrew Lewis Caldwell as Megawatt, three hired hands in Spider-Noir. Prime Video
"The writing. The groundedness of this world that makes every single character in this series so human," explained Li. "Even within their powers, they're still human, being dealt a really difficult card."
Taking place in New York City during the Great Depression, Spider-Noir weaves elements of the time period into its plot. World War I and Prohibition are part of the series' conversations and storyline, and Popoola was struck by the history.
"For me, it was the era," he said. "It's such a rich era historically. So interesting, so complex, so stylish, so fun. To get to throw a character that everyone knows and recognizes, for decades now, into that situation is a real delight and a real treat."
Huston echoed his co-stars and added, "It's a real treat to be doing something that I think hasn't really been done before." The actor pointed to the show's rendering in two visual formats for viewing, which Prime Video has dubbed "Authentic Black & White" and "True-Hue Full Color."
"To be able to offer this in black-and-white and color, that hasn't happened before," he said. "It's very hard to do something unique and original, and this is exactly that. I feel very special to be part of the whole process."
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