Spider-Noir Draws Major Reaction From Stephen King

Stephen King has some strong feelings about Spider-Noir.

It’s been almost two weeks since the Nicolas Cage-led superhero TV show premiered on MGM+, which was followed by its Prime Video release two days later. In that time, Spider-Noir has primarily earned positive critical reception, including from Spider-Man Noir creator David Hine (albeit accompanied by some criticisms). Now King has shared his own reaction to the popular series.

The acclaimed author went on Threads to praise Spider-Noir, writing that Cage “is excellent, and every b&w shot is pure pulp perfection.” This is the latest example of King going on social media to express his satisfaction with something he read or watched. Earlier this week, he commended the new horror-thriller novel A Violent Masterpiece, and last week, he gave a glowing review to Netflix’s The Boroughs.

Spider-Noir currently sits on Rotten Tomatoes at 91% on the critic-driven Tomatometer, and at 93% on the audience-fueled Popcornmeter. ScreenRant’s Spider-Noir review rated the show 7 out of 10 stars, calling it “a winning story for this new live-action side of Spider-Man.” Among the reasons the eight-episode show has stood out is that viewers are able to watch it in either "Authentic Black and White” or "True-Hue Full Color.”

With Spider-Noir, Cage now has eight superhero roles under his belt. That includes voicing a more traditional Spider-Man Noir in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, whom he’ll reprise in next year’s Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse. He also starred in the Ghost Rider movies, and portrayed two versions of Superman in The Flash and Teen Titans Go! to the Movies years after he and director Tim Burton failed to get Superman Lives off the ground in the late 1990s.

For this eight-episode series, Cage plays Ben Reilly rather than Peter Parker. This version of the former character is a down-on-his-luck private investigator who fights crime in 1930s New York City as The Spider, having gained his powers during World War I. Ahead of Spider-Noir’s release, the actor described his performance as "70% Humphrey Bogart, and 30% Bugs Bunny.” However, the role also saw Cage frequently changing his accent for narrative reasons.

Cage is joined in Spider-Noir by Lamorne Morris as Joe “Robbie” Robertson, Li Jun Li as Cat Hardy, Brendan Gleeson as Finbar Byrne/Silvermane, Karen Rodriguez as Janet Ruiz, Jack Huston as Flint Marko/Sandman, and Abraham Popoola as Lonnie Lincoln/Tombstone, among others. Oren Uziel created the series and served as showrunner alongside Steven Lightfoot.

Despite King and so many others showering accolades on Spider-Noir, it’s unclear whether the show will return for season 2. That said, audiences don’t need to worry about a lack of Spider-Man content in the near future. Along with the aforementioned release of Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2027, Tom Holland reprises his MCU incarnation of Peter Parker in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which opens in theaters at the end of July.

As for King, his next book, Other Words Than These, will be released on October 6. It's the sequel to 1984's The Talisman and 2001's Black House, both of which he wrote with Peter Straub, who died in 2022. The TV miniseries adaptation of King's 1974 novel Carrie will also join Spider-Noir as a Prime Video offering next year.

Release Date May 27, 2026

Network MGM+

Showrunner Oren Uziel, Steve Lightfoot

Directors Harry Bradbeer

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  Lamorne Morris

  Robbie Robertson