Well, this web has been cut surprisingly short. Prime Video has cancelled Spider-Noir after just one season, bringing Nicolas Cage‘s live-action Marvel series to an end despite strong reviews, an enthusiastic audience response, 11 Emmy nominations and billions of minutes watched.
Deadline reports that Prime Video has opted not to move forward with a second season. The decision comes just over three months after the eight-episode first season arrived globally on the streamer in late May.
And this isn’t exactly a case of a show arriving to a shrug.
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Strong Reviews, Strong Launch — Still No Season 2
Spider-Noir currently sits at 92% from critics and 90% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. It has also picked up 11 Emmy nominations — the most of any Prime Video series this year — covering categories including cinematography, production design, visual effects, stunt coordination, sound, prosthetic makeup, title design and music.
Then there are the viewing numbers. Variety reports that Nielsen measured 2.6 billion US viewing minutes for the series across its first six weeks.
The show certainly started strongly. Deadline reports that Spider-Noir launched at No. 2 on Nielsen’s US chart for original streaming series, pulling in 851 million minutes during its first week. But it didn’t have the staying power of some other recent Prime Video releases, dropping out of the platform’s daily Top 10 relatively quickly.
We were firmly on the positive side as well. In our review of the first two episodes, we called them “stylish, gritty, and surprisingly funny,” praising Cage’s commitment, the strong noir atmosphere and the way the series managed to mix detective mystery with superhero action.
Clearly, though, strong reviews and a healthy launch weren’t enough to get another season over the line.
Then there’s the reported price tag. GamesRadar, citing a report from French VFX publication 3DVF, reported that the first season may have cost close to a staggering US$400 million, although neither Amazon nor Sony confirmed the figure. The Irish Times later cited a purported first-season cost of around US$150 million, saying the earlier US$400 million reports appeared erroneous.
Amazon has not announced a reason for the cancellation, so it’s important not to draw a direct line between the reported cost, the show’s viewing trajectory and the decision to pull the plug. Streaming renewal decisions can involve far more than raw viewing minutes or review scores, including production costs, completion rates, subscriber impact and other internal metrics that companies generally don’t make public.
A 1930s Spidey and Two-Format Approach
Cage starred as Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator in an alternate 1930s New York who had left behind his former life as the city’s only superhero. The series marked Cage’s first leading television role and followed his memorable voice performance as Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The series also starred Lamorne Morris, Li Jun Li, Karen Rodriguez, Abraham Popoola, Jack Huston and Brendan Gleeson. Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot served as co-showrunners and executive producers, with Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal among those who helped develop the project.
One of the show’s more distinctive touches was allowing Prime Video viewers to choose between “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color” versions of all eight episodes, with the monochrome presentation leaning heavily into the classic film-noir aesthetic.
Amazon and Sony Aren’t Finished With Marvel
While Spider-Noir is finished, the wider partnership between Amazon and Sony Pictures Television apparently isn’t.
TheWrap reports that the companies will continue working together on television projects involving Sony-controlled Marvel characters, with another chapter already identified. Deadline similarly reports that Prime Video is eyeing another series based around a character from Sony’s sizeable collection of Spider-Man-related Marvel properties.
That partnership has already had a somewhat rocky road. Silk: Spider Society was originally positioned as another major series under the deal, only to be scrapped before making it to screens. Spider-Noir ultimately became the first completed series to emerge from the arrangement. Exactly which character is being lined up next hasn’t been announced.
For now, though, Cage’s trench coat is staying on the rack. All eight episodes of Spider-Noir‘s sole season remain available to stream on Prime Video.
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