Nicolas Cage is back in the spotlight, and his latest transformation might leave fans scratching their heads. The Oscar-winning actor says his take on the Marvel hero in Spider-Noir came from a mix that no one saw coming—Humphrey Bogart and Bugs Bunny. Yes, really.
“This character was 70 percent Bogart, and 30 percent Bugs Bunny,” Cage told Esquire. “I was basically Mel Blanc doing Bogart, with that sarcastic sense of humor. But it’s a hundred percent me.”
Set in a gritty 1930s New York City, Spider-Noir follows Cage as Ben Reilly, a beaten-down private investigator who becomes the city’s reluctant superhero. The show dives into loss, redemption, and identity—perfect terrain for Cage, who has built a reputation for blending madness and genius in equal measure. His performance channels the cool detachment of Bogart’s classic film noir icons, but with the unpredictable energy of a Saturday morning cartoon. Who else but Cage would describe his superhero as “a spider trying to cosplay as a human”?
“You’ll see some other influences start to emerge as well,” Cage said. “I did look at Cagney, and I looked at Edward G. Robinson. But when you watch Bogart and you watch everybody around him, he almost seems like a cartoon character. The same thing happens here. But it’s brilliant, and you can’t take your eyes off the guy.”
Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, the pair behind hits like Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, have watched Cage’s creative chaos unfold up close. “Nic brought all of this thinking to the character that really surprised us and was kind of a headslapper,” Lord explained. “His take on it was like, ‘I’m a spider trying to cosplay as a human.’ He’s code-switching. Inside his body, he feels like an animal.” Miller added, “That’s why you cast Nicolas Cage. He’s going to come at a character in a way that no one else would think of.”
After decades of ups and downs, Cage’s resurgence feels almost poetic. He ruled the box office in the 1990s. Then came a stretch of direct-to-video releases that left critics wondering if his best days were behind him. But his recent rise—in acclaimed films and now his first television lead—proves he’s still one of Hollywood’s most unpredictable forces. Could Spider-Noir be the role that defines this new Cage era?
Spider-Noir will stream on MGM+ and Prime Video this spring, though an exact release date hasn’t been announced. The eight-part series will be available in two visual styles—“Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color.” That’s right, viewers can choose how they want to see Cage’s Bogart-meets-Bugs performance unfold. Given his history with Into the Spider-Verse, where he voiced Spider-Man Noir, it’s fitting that he gets to reinvent the character once more—this time as Ben Reilly, a Spider-Man from a different universe. Will fans embrace his latest offbeat creation, or wonder what planet this version of Spider-Man crawled in from?
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