While the wait continues for news about where things stand with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man 4 on the upcoming Marvel movies slate, a different version of the Web-Slinger is set to snag the spotlight on the small screen. The Nicholas Cage-led Spider Noir, the upcoming TV show that will play on MGM+ and be streamable to those with a Prime Video subscription, follows a variation of Spidey who’s an aging private investigator in 1930s New York City. Naturally every hero in a story needs a villain to clash with, and the actor who’s been cast to play the main antagonist in Spider-Noir is an outstanding choice.
According to Variety, Brendan Gleeson is believed to be playing Spider-Noir’s chief baddie. Although the character isn’t named in the article, it was rumored in July that Nicholas Cage’s Spider-Man will be investigating a murder involving Silvered Manfredi, a.k.a. Silvermane, leader of the Maggia crime family, as well as femme fatale Yuri Watanabe, who became Wraith in the comics. So it’s entirely possible that Silvemane is whom Gleeson will be playing, but whether that’s the case or not, this is a great get for Spider-Noir.
This will be Gleeson’s second time acting in a comic book-related project, the first being Joker: Folie à Deux, which drops in just a few weeks on the 2024 movies schedule. Genre-wise though, Gleeson is best known for roles like Mad-Eye Moody in three of the Harry Potter movies and Bill Hodges in the TV adaptation of Stephen King’s Mr. Mercedes. The actor was last seen performing in a live-action project in 2022’s The Banshees of Inisherin, which netted him the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nomination.
In addition to Gleeson and Nicolas Cage, who previously voiced a different take on Spider-Man Noir in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, the Spider-Noir cast includes Lamorne Morris as journalist Robbie Robertson, Li Jun Li reportedly playing a nightclub singer (perhaps this is the show’s Yuri Watanabe, and Abraham Popoola reportedly playing a World War I veteran “who is looking for an opportunity to get ahead.” Behind the scenes, Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot are showrunning and executive producing the series, having developed the series with Into the Spider-Verse directors Phil Lord and Chris Miller, as well as Amy Pascal.
Spider-Noir began shooting in Los Angeles last month, but it remains to be seen when the series will premiere to the public. In addition to it and the in-development Spider-Man 4, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse remains on the horizon, but it’s still without a release date too after being pulled from this year’s theatrical lineup. Amazon also once had another Spider-Man spinoff show being put together called Silk: Spider Society, but it was scrapped in May.
