Giving “Spider Noir” viewers the choose-your-own-adventure option between watching the Prime Video series in color or black-and-white brought something new to the world of superhero shows.
“Black-and-white was an opportunity for fans of the comic book world to get a taste of German expressionism, hard lighting and an aesthetic they might not be familiar with,” showrunner Oren Uziel told Variety’s chief awards editor Clayton Davis during Amazon’s “Spider Noir” event on June 5. “If you’re a fan of film noir, it’s a chance to see a Humphrey Bogart-like character in a very vibrant, poppy, saturated color palette.”
The first season of “Spider Noir,” currently streaming on Prime Video, tells the story of how detective Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage) became the web-slinging hero Spider-Noir. Set in 1930s New York, the series is inspired by the “Spider-Man Noir” Marvel comic books.
The Oscar-winning Cage admitted he had to “get the snob hat off” after not starring in a TV show before “Spider Noir” (he was featured in a 1981 ABC pilot “The Best of Times” that was never picked up for series.) When his teenage son sat him down to watch “Breaking Bad,” he realized how much could be gained from long-form storytelling.
“[Oren and I] started planting little seeds, that the character would start to move like a spider and we would explain the different vocal intonations — keeping it enigmatic, but later in the show showing that he’s watching the old movies and he’s reprogramming his body to become more human again,” Cage said. “I don’t think we would have had the time to find that in a normal feature film.”
Lamorne Morris, who won an Emmy for “Fargo” while he was in production on “Spider Noir,” explained how his initial interest in being a sports journalist informed his portrayal of reporter Robbie Robertson. When doing research on the original comics, he stumbled upon a journalist named Ted Poston.
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“At the time, I hadn’t known anything about him. They call him the ‘Dean of Black Journalism.’ I have this strange suspicion that Robbie from the original comics was based on Ted Poston because they share a similar walk,” Morris said. “So when I’m doing research on Robbie, I start developing my character around Ted.”
Karen Rodriguez, who plays secretary-turned-investigator Janet Ruiz, was asked about bringing Latino representation to the show. “She’s a woman who speaks her mind, who doesn’t let society tell her what she is or cannot be and that she surrounds herself within a community, particularly with Ben and Robbie that allow her to be,” she said. “So it’s both a singular empowerment, but also her story is that you actually get empowered through community.”
Jack Huston, who portrays the Sandman/Flint Marko, recalled getting deep into history with Cage and the opportunity to honor the classic films that “Spider Noir” references.
“What a treat that we get to tread the boards of where people were on the backlots of Warner Bros. and MGM and Universal,” Huston said. “This is where Humphrey Bogart and James Cagney and all the great directors and everybody were walking to these sets and doing something. We don’t get the opportunity to do something like this.”
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