Spider-Noir TV Creators Discuss Nicolas Cage’s “Jaded” Ben Reilly as Spider-Man Over “Boyish” Peter Parker

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In the upcoming Spider-Noir streaming series, showrunner Oren Uziel and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller reveal why Nicolas Cage is portraying Ben Reilly instead of the classic Spider-Man, Peter Parker. The series aims to capture the gritty essence of classic film noir, with Peter embodying a sense of optimism that Spider-Noir lacks.

“This character is quite different from the Peter Parker we know from the films. He’s older, more jaded, and not afraid to throw a punch when necessary,” Miller explains, while Lord adds, “He’s already experienced his disillusionment long ago.”

Lord and Miller have a solid grasp on Spider-Noir, as a variant of Peter Parker appears in their animated Spider-Verse series, also voiced by Cage. Cage himself describes his portrayal of Reilly as a mix of “70 percent Bogart and 30 percent Bugs Bunny.”

“Peter Parker is often seen as a high school kid—youthful and optimistic,” Uziel notes. “Ben Reilly has gone through his journey and is trying to move on, but his past keeps resurfacing. It’s a different take that we haven’t explored before.”

Ben Reilly originates from the comics as a clone of Peter Parker who adopts his own identity, taking his first name from Uncle Ben and his last name from Aunt May’s maiden name. He has often donned the Spider-Man mantle, sometimes alongside Peter Parker, and has also been known as Scarlet Spider. A version of Scarlet Spider Ben Reilly was voiced by Andy Samberg in the Spider-Verse films.