Warning! This post contains SPOILERS for Spider-NoirSony’s newest live-action Spider-Man is basically a preview for what we’ll soon be seeing in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. Releasing in July, Brand New Day will be the fourth movie starring Tom Holland as the MCU’s Spider-Man. However, Sony has also just debuted Nicolas Cage as Spider-Noir, a live-action variant of the classic Webslinger who works as a detective in 1930s New York.
Currently streaming on MGM+ and Prime Video, Sony’s eight-episode Spider-Noir series features what is easily the most unique depiction of a live-action Spider-Man we’ve ever seen. Retired for five years before being pulled back to the mask, Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly is one of the more striking Webslingers, especially with his new origins. However, it’s worth noting that the internal struggles Ben Reilly deals with in Spider-Noir will likely be mirrored in Brand New Day with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man.
Here’s how Spider-Noir may be secretly getting audiences prepped and primed for the plot of the MCU’s Spider-Man: Brand New Day when it releases later this summer.
Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir Struggles To Suppress His “Spider Impulses”
One of the most fascinating aspects of Sony’s new Spider-Noir series is how it approaches Cage’s “The Spider” and the origins of his powers during WWI. Unlike most versions of Peter Parker, Nicolas Cage’s Ben Reilly was not bitten by a radioactive spider. Instead, Reilly gains his abilities after being bitten by a prisoner of war who’d been hybridized with spider DNA. Once that happens, Cage’s Spider-Noir almost immediately finds himself fighting increasingly powerful spider-like impulses.
As revealed by Ben Reilly himself when recalling his origins, Ben had to relearn how to be human again and find ways of suppressing his newly inherent spider instincts.
Apparently, this was an idea the actor had way back when Cage nearly played Norman Osborn’s Green Goblin for director Sam Raimi in Tobey Maguire’s Spider-Man trilogy, as he reportedly wanted to see a scene where Peter Parker is alone in his room and acts like an actual spider. Overall, the idea of an internal conflict between the Spider and the Man is pretty fascinating, and has been explored in the comics with “The Other” storyline. Keeping that in mind, Brand New Day may be heading in a very similar direction for Tom Holland’s Webslinger.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day Will Give The MCU’s Spider-Man The Same Challenge
Following the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home, Peter has already lost nearly everything connected to his old life in Brand New Day. He’s living alone in a small New York apartment, his friends no longer remember him, and he’s operating without the support system he once had as an Avenger. He’ll also be facing new threats like The Hand, Scorpion, and a more mysterious, unseen foe capable of controlling minds. On top of it all, it’s been revealed that Peter will also have to contend with his own rapidly evolving DNA.
The trailers for Spider-Man: Brand New Day suggest that the MCU may be exploring similar territory to what was just seen in Spider-Noir. As seen in the new footage, it seems as though the MCU’s Peter Parker will be experiencing significant biological changes tied to his spider powers. Rather than simply becoming stronger, faster, and receiving new abilities like organic webs, Peter appears to be undergoing an aggressive mutation as his DNA rapidly evolves.
Shown emerging from a web cocoon with his new abilities, it seems as though Brand New Day is taking some inspiration from “The Other” as well, which saw Peter receiving new powers along with stronger, spider-like impulses after a similar cocoon rebirth. Keeping all that in mind, the odds are quite strong that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will likely find himself dealing with similar struggles that were just shown with Nicolas Cage’s Spider-Noir (The Spider overtaking the Man).
Spider-Noir is now streaming on MGM+ and Prime Video. Spider-Man: Brand New Day releases in theaters July 29th.