A new “Spider-Man Noir” series is in the works at Amazon Prime Video and MGM, confirmed to be directed by well-known screenwriter Oren Uziel. Former Sony boss and fellow film producer Amy Pascal will be executive producer for the series. This is the second known project from Prime Video based on Sony-controlled properties; Angela Kang’s “Silk: Spider Society” was given the green light to begin production a few months ago.
The ‘Noir’ aspect of the show stems from its setting in a gritty, Depression-esque era, similar to the 2009 comic run of the same name, from which the series will be drawing inspiration. However, a spokesperson from Amazon says that the series will follow a main character other than Peter Parker, a departure from the source material. It is not clear who will step into the limelight in the absence of the original web-slinger, given that Sony owns a good nine hundred characters that are at least somewhat linked to the Spider-Man franchise.
As for Uziel, longtime fans can rest easy, as his experience with past screenplays can easily live up to the quality of work expected of various Marvel Comics adaptations. His work with a plethora of movie genres, such as the well-loved comedy-action movie “22 Jump Street” and most recently the romance-action film “The Lost City”, should have fans excited to see what he can bring to the table. This isn’t even his first foray into the spider-verse, as Uziel also played a role in the development of “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”, along with fellow producers Christopher Miller and Phil Lord.
After the success of “Spider-Man: No Way Home” (easily Sony’s highest-grossing film of all time), it was an easy bet to guess that something with Spider-Man would be in the works. No recent Marvel films have quite lived up to expectations, as films such as “Thor: Love and Thunder” were relative box-office flops. However this is not true for every film, as the most recent release “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” generated positive reviews and grossed 855 million dollars worldwide, setting up some powerful Marvel-loving momentum for this series to build on.
This will not be the first time we have seen the Noir universe on screen, as we saw an appearance in “Ultimate Spider-Man” and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”. In the former instance, “Gilmore Girls” star Milo Ventimiglia takes control of the character, while the legendary Nicholas Cage brought Spider-Man Noir to life in hilariously brooding fashion in “Into the Spider-Verse.” Regardless of the protagonist, this leaves the key question of who will take over as the Noir universe comes to live-action for the first time, something fans can look forward to hearing more about in the months leading up to the release.
In the original 2009 comic in the Noir universe, you see a man get bitten by a spider inside of a stolen artifact, causing him to have visions of a spider-like creature that gives him superpowers. It’s a slightly different take on the classic origin story, but it should lead to some fascinating mystical developments and world-building. It will be interesting to see if Sony will link the show to recent Spider-Man films such as the animated “Into The Spider-Verse,” which won the Academy Award for Best Animated Film in 2019, or “No Way Home” which was Marvel’s second-highest grossing movie of all time.
Expectations are high, and there is a lot to look forward to in the world of Spider-Man. Several sequels are due to be released in the coming years, including “Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse,” which will be released sometime in June of this year. In terms of live-action films, the most recent installment is the “Venom” series. The first two films came out in 2018 and 2021 respectively, and a third film is coming out sometime in late 2024. Sony clearly took their time with the production of these films, and fans should be excited for what’s to come.
