Nicolas Cage has welcomed Prime Video’s decision to cancel “Spider-Noir” after its first season, saying he had no wish to continue playing private investigator Ben Reilly. In a recent interview with IGN, the actor described the season as a complete achievement and said extending the role could diminish what he valued about it.
Asked whether there was more of the investigator’s story to tell, Cage answered “no.” He called the season “perfect” and explained that the character’s distinctive qualities made the performance a demanding undertaking. Returning for a second or third season, he suggested, risked pushing that approach too far and wearing out the audience’s welcome.
Cage said his reaction to the decision against renewal was relief. “So when they didn’t pick it up, I was like, ‘Whew, thank you!’” he told IGN. He linked that response to his preference for avoiding repetition, while emphasizing his affection for both the character and the season. Leaving the series at that point, he said, would allow the work to remain fresh.
The comments followed Cage’s criticism of Amazon in October, after the cancellation became public. Speaking at a New York Comic Con panel, he said the company had asked him to sign a waiver permitting the use of artificial intelligence on “Spider-Noir.” Cage said he refused to sign it and contrasted his opposition to AI with Amazon’s approach to the technology.
During the panel, Cage described Amazon as friendly toward AI and cited what he said was a $50 billion investment in OpenAI. He also said he did not expect to work with the studio again and was comfortable with that prospect. The canceled series recorded 2.6 billion viewing minutes during its first six weeks, according to Nielsen’s streaming content ratings, and received 11 Emmy nominations, winning five.
Cage’s upcoming work includes the fifth season of HBO’s “True Detective,” in which he will star alongside Antonio Banderas. In the IGN interview, he pointed to that project as another single-season commitment, saying that arrangement suited his preferences.
He also stars in “Madden,” a biographical film tracing John Madden’s Super Bowl-winning partnership with Al Davis and the Raiders, the creation of Madden NFL and his prominence as a voice of football. The film is scheduled to open in select theaters on November 11 before becoming available globally on Prime Video on November 18.
