Earlier this year Sony announced Spider-Man Noir, a live-action Amazon Prime series based on the alternate 1930s version of Spider-Man featured in the animated Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse. Now there has finally been movement on development as Variety reports Sony has hired Steven Lightfoot to co-showrun Spider-Man Noir alongside writer Oren Uziel.
Lightfoot served as showrunner for Netflix’s Marvel series The Punisher which starred Jon Bernthal and ran for two series. Spider-Man Noir will follow “an older, grizzled superhero in 1930s New York City” with the series not connecting to any other Spidey project, but “be set in its own universe and the main character will not be Peter Parker.”
Spider-Man Noir was developed by Uziel alongside Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller and former Sony boss Amy Pascal, who all executive produce. Pascal will executive produce through Pascal Pictures while Lord and Miller through their deal with Sony/
In the animated film, Nicolas Cage voiced Spider-Man Noir as he is transported from his world to Miles Morales’ New York City. He teams up with Miles, an alternate Peter Parker, Spider-Gwen, Peni Parker and Spider-Ham to defeat Kingpin before his universal collider destroys the multiverse. While he didn’t appear fully in the sequel Across The Spider-Verse, he is expected to return in Beyond The Spider-Verse as Across ended with Spider-Gwen assembling their old team alongside her new friends to rescue Miles and save the multiverse from The Spot.
Spider-Man Noir is just another project in a long line of Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters since they still retain the rights to Spider-Man. With Sony and Marvel Studios having renewed their contract for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to be in the MCU (a contract that is surely to be negotiated again soon with Holland expressing interest in a fourth MCU Spider-Man film), Sony has been mining his corner of Marvel for any character they can bring to the big or small screen.
Venom has proven to be a big success for them with Venom 3 beginning production again while next year will see the release of Madame Web and Kraven The Hunter. Additionally, last year Sony also announced development of Silk: Spider Society, a series based off a relatively new character who also inherited spider powers, for Amazon. Sony has unsuccessfully attempted to develop films off other Spidey characters such as Black Cat and Silver Sable to absolutely obscure characters such as El Muerto and Hypno Hustler. At least with Spider-Man Noir audiences will have some familiarity of the concept thanks to the Spider-Verse films.
Ricky Church – Follow me on Twitter for more movie news and nerd talk.
