Ben Reilly hasn’t had the best luck, but the Creative Arts Emmys offer some consolation. Following a surprise cancellation by Amazon and MGM Studios, despite a solid first-season run, Spider-Noir has crawled back with the last laugh. The live-action series notched five wins at the award ceremony, taking home stunt coordination for comedy programming, sound editing for a one-hour comedy or drama series, title design, special visual effects in a single episode, and cinematography for a series.
It’s hardly the only milestone, with its 11-nomination list marking the most out of any series for Prime Video this year. The show also marked Nicolas Cage’s first small-screen role and the titular hero’s live-action debut, with the intention to kick off Amazon’s and Sony Pictures Television’s plan to expand the stories of Marvel characters under the latter banner. In the wake of the unfortunate news, the National Treasure star expressed sentiments that the first season was “perfect”.
“For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man,” Cage told Deadline, adding, “Onwards, upwards, inwards.”
Spider-Noir now stands at a 92 percent critics score and 89 percent audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but its high budget and respectable but not blockbuster viewership were reportedly the reasons behind the cancellation, which is a pity because the unique release format in both monochrome and colour was a refreshing change of scenery. Rather than the Peter Parker that fans know, it told the story of Cage’s Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York “forced to grapple with his past life following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.”
While Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse elevated the shadowy webhead to mainstream popularity, the eight-episode outing is inspired by the comic books and has no connection to Sony’s animated darling. Oren Uziel (The Lost City) and Steve Lightfoot (The Punisher) served as overall co-runners and executive producers, with the first two episodes directed and executive produced by Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag, Killing Eve). Cage and Into the Spider-Verse‘s original trio Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal were among the executive producers.
Alongside Cage, who voiced the character in the animated films, Spider-Noir also starred Lamorne Morris (New Girl) as Robbie Robertson, Brendan Gleeson (The Banshees of Inisherin) as a mob boss, Abraham Popoola (The Rig) as a World War I veteran, Li Jun Li (Babylon) as a nightclub singer, and Jack Huston (Ben-Hur) as a bodyguard.
As for the Creative Arts Emmys, the event took place from 5 to 6 September and commonly honours behind-the-scenes personnel and includes additional accolades for outstanding animated programs, commercials, and guest actors. The main ceremony will be held live on 14 September at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California.
Si Jia is a casual geek at heart – or as casual as someone with Sephiroth’s theme on her Spotify playlist can get. A fan of movies, games, and Japanese culture, Si Jia’s greatest weakness is the Steam Summer Sale. Or any Steam sale, really.
Kevin Low
