Nicolas Cage Swings Through Shadows and Sand in Spider-Noir’s Final Trailer

Viewers get their clearest look yet at the live-action Spider-Noir series that places the web-slinger in a rain-soaked 1930s New York. The new footage opens with Cage as Ben Reilly, a private investigator who has tried to leave his vigilante days behind. A nightclub singer named Cat Hardy approaches him with a case that pulls everything back into focus. She needs answers about a disappearance, and the trail leads straight into trouble.

First, the trailer introduces two more key villains in great detail. Jack Huston appears as the Sandman, a man who vanished and then reappeared as this creature who can shift and collapse like living sand. Brendan Gleeson plays Silvermane, a crime boss who has taken over the city and assembled a gang of seriously improved goons. Another small peek provides us a different perspective on Electro, hinting at what we might be in for if Silvermane gets his way.

This show’s production is done in a very stylish manner, with each episode being released in not one but two versions. One is in crisp black and white, evoking the classic noir style of shadows, moonlit streets, and all that jazz. The second version uses full-on color, which the developers refer to as “real hue,” which keeps the same lighting while adding a whole new layer of depth to the clothes and locations.

Reilly isn’t the only one on this show; Lamorne Morris appears as Robbie Robertson, Karen Rodriguez as Janet, and Abraham Popoola pulls a WWI veteran into the mix. Then there’s Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, the femme fatale who set everything in motion in the first place. Guest appearances by Lukas Haas and a few others round out the group of shady street-level operatives and news reporters who populate this other city.

This first season consists of eight episodes, which will premiere on MGM+ on May 25th, followed by all installments on Prime Video two days later. Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot, the brains behind it all, took the reigns and collaborated with some of the biggest names in film, including Phil Lord, Chris Miller, and Amy Pascal. Harry Bradbeer helmed the first two episodes to get things started well, and based on the teaser, he appears to have set the tone for the entire season.

The series is based on the 2009 Marvel comics, but it takes its own path by focusing on Ben Reilly rather than Peter Parker. Reilly bears the wounds of previous choices as well as a personal loss that the video alludes to without revealing. Each additional footage reinforces the impression that this is less a movie about boundless power and more about a man determining whether one more struggle is worth it.