Nicolas Cage Says ‘Godzilla Minus One’ Kept ‘Spider-Noir’ From Never Happening

Live-action Spider-Man projects have taken some unusual turns in recent years, but few looked as unlikely on paper as ‘Spider-Noir.’ The series follows an aging, down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York who has to face his past life as the city’s only superhero, and Nicolas Cage stars as Ben Reilly. It premiered on MGM+ on May 25 before arriving on Prime Video two days later.

The show also came with a gimmick that no Marvel-adjacent series had tried before. Every episode was offered in two versions, “Authentic Black & White” and “True-Hue Full Color,” and critics picked sides. One reviewer said they preferred the gritty, moody black-and-white look, while another switched between the two after every episode.

That choice almost never happened. According to Cage, he believes ‘Godzilla Minus One’ managed to save ‘Spider-Noir’ from never being made. Cage says Amazon was “terrified of the black & white,” so he offered a compromise, borrowing the idea from the kaiju hit that the show could be done both ways.

Cage had seen ‘Godzilla Minus One,’ which arrived in full color and later in a black-and-white version called ‘Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color,’ a tribute to the original ‘Gojira.’ His pitch was to give color to younger viewers who find black and white dated, while fans who catch the references get the monochrome cut. According to the actor, that decision saved the series.

It isn’t the first time Cage has explained his reasoning. Speaking to Esquire earlier this year, he said he suggested the two-version approach from the beginning because Amazon was nervous about black and white, and he argued the show was for all ages. He also said he first saw the Godzilla film in color in Japan and found it stunning, but thought it looked even better when reissued in black and white, like an old ‘Godzilla’ movie.

Nicolas Cage says that ‘GODZILLA MINUS ONE’ managed to save ‘SPIDER-NOIR’ from never being made.

“Amazon were terrified of the black & white… I offered that [like Godzilla] we could do it both ways.” pic.twitter.com/uvPRcc8rs5

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) October 3, 2026

His timing was good, because that black-and-white release paid off. ‘Godzilla Minus One/Minus Color’ opened in North American theaters on January 26, 2024, for a one-week run. It sent the film back into the domestic top 10 with a 264% week-over-week jump in box office earnings, and it helped the film become the third-highest-grossing foreign-language movie in U.S. history.

The film’s success went well beyond the re-release. ‘Godzilla Minus One’ won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, the first Oscar nomination and win in the franchise’s 70-year history, with a production budget of less than $15 million. That made it an easy example for Cage to point to when making his case to executives.

Cage wasn’t only the star either. He also served as an executive producer on ‘Spider-Noir’ alongside Phil Lord, Christopher Miller and Amy Pascal, the Oscar-winning team behind ‘Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.’ That likely gave his pitch more weight in the room.

The dual format did attract an audience, as ‘Spider-Noir’ earned 2.6 billion viewing minutes in its first six weeks, according to Nielsen. Even so, Prime Video canceled the series after one season and 8 episodes.

With no power comes no responsibility. "Spider-Noir" – a live-action series starring Nicolas Cage – arrives in authentic Black & White and True-Hue full color May 27 on Prime. pic.twitter.com/bKQqzphRNw

— Prime Video (@PrimeVideo) February 12, 2026

That leaves Cage’s story with a bittersweet note. A black-and-white Godzilla movie may have saved ‘Spider-Noir’ from never being made, but it couldn’t guarantee a second season. Meanwhile, Sony and Prime Video are partnering to turn ‘The Clone Saga’ into a TV series.

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