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Children’s books are usually associated with imagination, adventure, and comforting bedtime stories, but some of them contain surprisingly dark ideas beneath the surface. Over the years, filmmakers have taken those eerie themes and transformed them into full horror movies filled with monsters, nightmares, and psychological terror. In some cases, the connection is obvious, while others only loosely borrow characters, creatures, or unsettling concepts from stories originally written for younger readers. That strange contrast between childhood innocence and horror often makes these movies even more disturbing. Here are 15 horror movies that were somehow inspired by children’s books and stories meant for younger audiences.

The post 15 Horror Movies That Were Somehow Based on Children’s Books appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

Mumblecore continues to grow into new genre offshoots. This year’s Sinner Supper Club has already been called both “mumblegore” and “mumblequeer,” but Nora Kaye and Daisy Rosato, who co-wrote and directed the movie, seem happy to embrace all the mumbles while taking things in a different direction. “Mumblecore is a movement that kind of started […]

The post Sinner Supper Club Is a Queer Mumblecore Movie About the Imperfections of Grief appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

At the end of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter Parker went back to basics. Gone was his Iron Spider costume, gone was Tony Stark’s suit-fabricating machine, gone were his EDITH AI glasses. All Peter had was a sewing machine in a crappy apartment, stitching together a homemade Spider-Man outfit. Spider-Man: Brand New Day will explore […]

The post Spider-Man Teases a Brand New Day for Marvel Effects appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

In an industry that’s being rapidly taken over by computer-animated projects and various forms of AI slop, the work of Laika Studios still feels like a breath of fresh air. Probably best known for its (excellent) adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, the studio has had a remarkable run of success in recent years, earning an […]

The post Laika’s Wildwood Trailer Is a Love Letter to Human Animation appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

The following contains spoilers for The Terror: Devil in Silver episode 2. The Terror: Devil in Silver takes place in the confines of the fictional New Hyde Psychiatric Hospital, the sort of dark and oppressive setting that automatically lends itself to questions of reality, truth, and whether viewers can trust what they’re seeing at any […]

The post Dan Stevens Talks Depicting the Grim State of Mental Healthcare in The Terror: Devil in Silver appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

The past few years have been strange for Superman fans. On the big screen, you had David Corenswet famously convincing James Gunn to put the Man of Tomorrow’s underwear on the outside for 2024’s Superman. On the small screen, the second season of My Adventures with Superman gave Kal-El new duds with undies on the […]

The post My Adventures with Superman Season 3 Trailer Settles a Sartorial Debate appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

Doctor Who has a new streaming home, but not quite in the way that fans were likely expecting. AMC+ has acquired the streaming rights to the popular sci-fi series, and most of the show’s “reboot” era—over 150 episodes from 2005 to 2022—will be available on the streamer from June 11. But his news will likely […]

The post Doctor Who’s New Streaming Home Raises Fresh Questions About the Franchise’s Future appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

Like any superhero concept that’s existed for more than 80 years, Green Lantern has undergone some significant changes. Most notably, the Green Lantern introduced in 1940 had a magical ring vulnerable to wood, while today’s Green Lanterns are sci-fi superhero space cops with power rings. Furthermore, some beats in the Green Lantern story have aged […]

The post Lanterns May Be Reviving a Controversial Origin Story appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

John Steinbeck’s 1952 novel East of Eden is being adapted yet again to question if identity truly is based on what you choose. Now Netflix has released a trailer for the upcoming limited series starring Florence Pugh that makes clear it’s choosing a new narration of the original story.  The novel follows the lives of […]

The post Netflix’s East of Eden Trailer Gives One of Literature’s Cruelest Women an Antihero Rewrite  appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. […]

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.

Spider-Noir is a strange mix of the familiar and the strange. On one hand, you have a web-spinner doing battle against classic villains like Sandman and Tombstone. On the other, the hero here is Ben Reilly a.k.a. the Spider, a superhero who turned private investigator after a tragedy took away the love of his life. And that doesn’t even get into how the series nods to classic film noirs, starting with Humphrey Bogart staples The Big Sleep and The Maltese Falcon.

For star Nicolas Cage, Bogart is the best guide to mixing hard-boiled detective fiction with spectacular superhero adventures. “The thing I always enjoyed about watching Bogart, especially in movies like The Big Sleep, is that he seemed amused by other people’s bad behavior,” Cage tells Den of Geek. “He would start to laugh at other people’s wickedness, he got tickled by it.

“I tried to put a little of that into Spider-Noir. If Li Jun Li’s character Cat Hardy was doing something dangerous, it would amuse Ben Reilly. He’d think, ‘Oh, I know this is so much fun,’ just like Bogart would be doing.”

Cage’s commitment to film noir impressed showrunner Oren Uziel, who recalls a particularly memorable table read.

“We were out to lunch at a restaurant in Los Angeles, long before we had started shooting and he had already memorized half the script. He suddenly said, ‘I’m going to do this one like Edward G. Robinson,’ and he just did an entire scene.”

Performing the script in the manner of the star of greats such as Little Caesar, Scarlet Street, and Double Indemnity only further endeared Cage to Uziel, who got to combine several of his passions while making Spider-Noir.

“I always loved Spider-Man, but I’ve always also loved noir. So when they came to me with the idea of making a standalone Spider-Man show set in 1930s New York City that’s film noir, I felt like I was the obvious person they should be talking to,” confesses Uziel. “I asked them to please let me do this.”

Uziel cites 1949’s The Third Man as a particular favorite. Directed by Carol Reed and written by Graham Greene, with a memorable zither score by Anton Karas, The Third Man stars Joseph Cotton as an American who comes to postwar Vienna in search of his friend Harry Lime (Orson Welles), now a criminal running the underground.

Uziel’s fandom comes through when he gushes about his favorite parts of The Third Man. “Orson Welles, and the way it’s shot, the relationships, the intrigue, all in postwar Vienna,” he says with an enthusiastic grin. “It’s just so romantic. There are shots we stole from all our favorite noirs… Well, lovingly homaged.”

For Lamorne Morris, the exciting part is getting to play Joseph “Robbie” Robertson, a vital part of Spider-Man’s supporting cast who has rarely appeared in live action. “He’s the voice of reason,” Morris says of his character, who is not a top-ranking editor in Spider-Noir, but rather a principled journalist.

“This Spider-Man is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen before. He’s faced with this dilemma where he’s over being a hero. He saved millions of lives already, and he’s just ready to be done with it,” Morris explains. “But the city still needs a hero, and so this is the first time Spider-Man has someone in his ear. As reporter for the Daily Bugle, Robbie really understands the pulse of New York. He understands what’s happening with crime and depression in the city, and in the mayoral race.

“So the fate of the city is in the Spider’s hands, and Robbie knows that. He understands the weight of it. And he’s trying to convince Ben that the city could use him.”

While Morris gets to create his live-action Robbie with little interference, his co-star Abraham Popoola has immediate competition for his character Lonnie Lincoln, better known as the villain Tombstone. Just months after Popoola debuts his Tombstone in Spider-Noir, Marvin Jones III will play the MCU version of the crime lord in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. But instead of feeling any sense of jealousy, Popoola has nothing but respect for his fellow Lonnie.

“I would love to talk with him about playing Lonnie,” he admits. “Marvin also plays Tombstone in the Spider-Man video game, and he’s amazing. I can’t wait to see what he does with the character in live-action.

“I didn’t take anything directly from the PlayStation video game, but I was definitely inspired by the essence of the story. I still play it now.”

Popoola’s love goes back further than the days of the PS4, back when he was voiced by Dorian Harewood. “Tombstone’s a character I’ve known since he was on the Fox Kids animated series from the ’90s,” Popoola notes. “I’m still processing the fact that I got this role. There’s one moment toward the end of the series where I was like, ‘This can’t be happening!’” he teases. “You’ll have to see it.”

Modern though his touchstones may be, Popoola understands the spirit of noir necessary for his character’s milieu. “The most noir thing you can do is to brood in a corner with the brim of a hat making a shadow over your eyes, watching people across the room,” he contends.

“I think it’s to just pop up,” jokes Morris. “In noir, they’re always just popping up. You never know what’s around the corner.”

But fittingly enough, it’s the show’s writer and creative guide who best understands the genre. “The most noir thing you can do is get your heart broken,” Uziel says. It’s a perfect answer, whether you’re talking about Humphrey Bogart, Spider-Man, or combing them together for Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir premieres on MGM+ on May 25, 2026, and on Prime Video on May 27, 2026.

The post Nicolas Cage and Spider-Noir Team Talk Hard-Boiled Inspirations for Spider-Man Series appeared first on Den of Geek.