Nicolas Cage says it was his idea to film new superhero series Spider-Noir in both color and monochrome in order to appeal to a wider audience.

“I’m all about the black and white. I designed my performance for black and white, and I’m glad I saw it that way,” Cage said on the red carpet at the Spider-Noir premiere.

“It was actually one of my ideas to shoot it in color, because I am aware of teenagers, and I’m aware they don’t have that much experience with black and white. So the dream is that they watch it in color, then they check it out in black and white and learn something and they go, ‘Hey, I wanna see some of these movie references,’ and then they just open a treasure trove of wealth of great American cinema.”

Cage plays Ben Reilly, AKA The Spider, an older, alternate version of Spider-Man in ’30s New York City. He’s a jaded, down-on-his-luck private detective who reluctantly returns to being a superhero after a personal tragedy. Cage played an animated version of The Spider in Into the Spider-Verse, and he’ll reprise the role in 2027’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.

In the show, the Cage’s Spidey will come up against a rogues gallery that includes Jack Huston’s Sandman, Brendan Gleeson’s Silvermane, and Li Jun Li’s Cat Hardy (AKA Black Cat).

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM Plus on May 25 before hitting Prime Video on May 27. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other best new TV shows on the way in 2026.