Prime Video's Spider-Noir Looks Great – The Color Version Looks Downright Cowardly

Let's get this out of the way up front: The new Prime Video series "Spider-Noir" looks absolutely fantastic. Sure, its connection to the larger Spider-Verse might still be a little unclear — after all, Nicolas Cage voiced a Peter Parker version of Spider-Man Noir in "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse," while Cage's pulpy hero won't actually be called Spider-Man and apparently has the real name Ben Reilly. Such nerdy quandaries hardly matter, though, because once Cage swings into live-action in the first trailer, it becomes clear that the series looks exciting, dynamic, and infused with the actor's signature brand of theatricality. Furthermore, it appears that showrunners Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot (as well as producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller) have a handle on keeping the series uniquely gritty while retaining a number of tropes and themes from the larger "Spider-Man" mythos. 

However, there's one playful decision in the trailer that cuts aggressively against Sony's otherwise admirable confidence of the project: In the year 2026, why in the world are we still being forced to suffer through a colorized release? 

"Spider-Noir" is a project that will live and die on its aesthetic. Cinematographer Darran Tiernan is a veteran of gorgeous shows like "The Penguin," "Barry," and "Westworld," and the glorious black and white trailer for "Spider-Noir" displays an intentional look. So why undercut this by simultaneously releasing a "True-Hue" color version? Sure, a dual release doesn't directly interfere with the black and white iteration, but its existence sadly continues a long-standing cowardliness when it comes to presenting films and television.

To the credit of "Spider-Noir," its color version at least attempts to retain the sense of retro homage that the original black and white version has. While the black and white version has obvious connections and connotations to classic 1940s and '50s film noir, the "True-Hue" version (including that pseudo-retro term) isn't merely a version of the series in traditional 2026 color, either. It also wasn't created wholly in post-production. Instead, the series, shot digitally as is common practice, took the captured footage, split it, and processed it separately into each version. As showrunner Oren Uziel described to Esquire, this allowed the production to give the "True-Hue" version a specialized look:

"It looks like a black and white film that's been kind of colorized. That was one of the inspirations for how to do it."

Indeed, the color version of the series, as seen in the newly-released trailer, has that slightly off, sickly, washed out palette of color that was embarrassingly plastered onto so many classic black and white films during the reign of Ted Turner and his anti-black and white crusade (a controversy that was actually tackled in a deleted scene from "Gremlins 2: The New Batch"). 

It's a cute idea in theory. It also makes the color version of "Spider-Noir" more than an afterthought. However, it unwittingly (or even knowingly) leans into the old stigma surrounding black and white film. As such, it only draws more attention to the disparity of the versions and the devaluation of black and white film.

To be fair, audiences have been trained to perceive dueling versions of films — black and white vs. color, director's cut vs. theatrical, you know the drill — as a feature, not a bug. This is demonstrated with the likes of "Mad Max: Fury Road," "Logan," and Guillermo del Toro's "Nightmare Alley." Ironically, this also makes the "True-Hue" version of "Spider-Noir" more condemning by comparison, as it doesn't provide an alternate experience strictly for artistic reasons. Rather, it deliberately leans into nostalgia ... but it's nostalgia for what was, in fact, a devaluing trend in film presentation.

The attempt by corporations to colorize (and, thus, supposedly modernize) classic films joins things like "fullscreen" versions that are really just contemptuous of audiences, treating the majority of viewers insultingly. So, while both versions of "Spider-Noir" offer a supposed freedom of choice, they subtly diminish each other at the same time. Naturally, Nicolas Cage was more upbeat when he spoke with Esquire on the matter:

"I think teenage viewers will appreciate the color, but I also want them to have the option. If they want to experience the concept in black and white, maybe that would instill some interest in them to look at earlier movies and enjoy that as an art form as well."

While that's a nice thought and would ideally happen, the offer of both versions of an entire series means that most people will only have the time to watch one. If only the show was presented in its primarily intended fashion, perhaps that education could've happened easier. Hopefully, it still will. The choice, it seems, is up to you.

"Spider-Noir" hits Prime Video on May 27, 2026.