It may be hard to believe, but December 2026 will mark eight years since the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Back in 2018, audiences worldwide were introduced to a new universe where multiple Spider-Man variants could work together towards a common goal. Not only did this project mark the big-screen debut of Miles Morales, but it also featured other iconic heroes such as Spider-Gwen, Spider-Ham, and, of course, Spider-Man Noir.
In the Spider-Verse franchise, Spider-Man Noir is an alternate-reality version of Peter Parker who lives in New York during the Great Depression era, drinks egg cream, and fights Nazis. Furthermore, he wears a fedora, his world is black and white, and he isn't afraid to use guns to solve some of his biggest problems. Audiences instantly fell in love with this iteration of the character, voiced by Nicolas Cage, so much so that, a few years later, a new live-action Spider-Noir series is finally here.
Spider-Noir stars Nicolas Cage as a seasoned and weary version of the wall-crawler. Furthermore, audiences are able to watch the whole show in black and white. That begs the question: Is the character from the new Prime Video and MGM+ series the same one from the Spider-Verse movies, given all their similarities? Unfortunately, that isn't the case.
Spider-Noir's main character is not the one seen in the Spider-Verse movies
While the Spider-Verse movies featured Peter Parker as Spider-Man Noir, the same cannot be said about the live-action adaptation. After all, Spider-Noir follows the story of Ben Reilly, a private investigator who used to protect the city as The Spider (not Spider-Man) but left those days behind years ago.
Granted, there's evidence to suggest that Ben Reilly is just a made-up name in the Spider-Noir show, and that Nicolas Cage's character really is Peter Parker in disguise. But even then, he is a completely different version of the wall-crawler from the one seen in the Spider-Verse movies.
During an interview with Empire, Spider-Noir showrunner Oren Uziel talked about how his show is not a continuation of the Spider-Verse theatrical saga:
"Same character, different universe. It's a different flavor of that character, even though it's still Nick's voice. It's not a continuation of Into the Spider-Verse. Once Phil and Chris introduced the idea of the multiverse, I think you're allowed to take things and make them your own."
Could the two franchises be connected further down the line? Absolutely. After all, Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Peter Parkers had small cameos in Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Thanks to the multiverse, anything is possible, and Nicolas Cage's character from the Spider-Noir live-action show could eventually cross paths with... Nicolas Cage's character from the Spider-Verse movies.
Spider-Noir already teased the idea of the multiverse, with Ben Reilly saying during the opening episode, "Someone once asked me what universe this was, a strange question that stuck with me all these years." So, there's a chance Marvel and Sony will create a big crossover that includes all of their different Spider-Man franchises one day. But for the time being, Spider-Noir and Spider-Verse are two completely different, unrelated franchises.
The jury is still out on whether we'll see more of Nicolas Cage's Ben Reilly on the small screen. Oren Uziel stated that Sony is working on other projects starring Spider-Man variants, so perhaps Season 2 of his show is one of them. However, we'll likely get a more concrete answer once the viewership numbers are in and Sony determines whether there's demand for a follow-up. But even if that doesn't end up being the case, we'll still watch Nicolas Cage's Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse next year.
Spider-Noir will be released on May 27 on Prime Video.
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