Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse director Bob Persichetti recently spoke about getting Nicolas Cage to secretly sign on as Spider-Man Noir.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse may not be conquering the box office like Aquaman is but it was certainly one of many beloved comic book films that hit the big screen in 2018. One of the film’s directors, Bob Persichetti, recently talked to Comicbook.com about casting one of the many fan-favorite characters, Nicolas Cage as Spider-Man Noir. This is what Persichetti had to say about the secretive casting.
“When looking at who we could approach to play the alternate dimension Spider characters, we thought about seminal actors that also might be comic book geeks. There were so many different casting meetings where a lot of options were put in front of us, but with Spider-Man Noir, we kept coming back to Nicolas Cage and wondering if he could or even would do it”.
While Cage is no stranger to comic book films, having played Johnny Blaze/Ghost Rider in the pair of films from 2007 and 2012 (and almost playing Superman in Tim Burton’s failed 1997 project Superman Lives).
Thankfully, Christina Steinberg, who produced Cage’s 2004 film National Treasure, was a producer on Spider-Verse and set up a pitch meeting between Cage and the film’s team:
“We showed him some artwork we had created for the film and pitched the character to him and he was immediately in. Noir was a character that spoke to him. And the black and white costume was the icing”.
And thus, history was made. But as Persichetti says:
“He was our first official lead cast because it felt so right. So we actually cast him over two years ago, but he couldn’t tell anyone.”
From the sounds of it, Cage went full throttle into the recording session, appropriately showing up to it wearing dark glasses:
“He never took them off, and never broke character. There was a palpable Humphrey Bogart energy that he brought into the room. It was really fun. We worked through his lines in three hours. He delivered awesome pulp magazine style line reads, and also comedy pulp style readings. He’s so good at it! Then we were done, he said his goodbyes, walked out of the room and that was it! No small talk, it was all business. He was just amazing.”
Have you seen Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse yet? What did you think of Nicholas Cage’s performance? Leave your thoughts in the comments!
Directed by Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, and Rodney Rothman with a screenplay by Phil Lord, the film features the voices of Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Mahershala Ali, Jake Johnson, Liev Schreiber, Brian Tyree Henry, Luna Lauren Velez and Lily Tomlin.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse is in theaters now!
Here’s Every Hero Who Appears In The ‘Avengers: Endgame’ Trailer
Today, Marvel Studios released the first official trailer for Avengers: Endgame and revealed which heroes will likely be on hand for the re-match against Thanos.
Avengers: Infinity War united nearly every hero in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the showdown with Thanos and after a decade of films that proved to be an extensive roster. However, the Marvel Studios epic concluded with Thanos succeeding in his mission to acquire the Infinity Stones and use their power to erase half of the universe’s population, with many of the aforementioned heroes being included among the casualties. Fortunately, the original Avengers teammates survived Thanos’ decimation and it appears they will be joined by a few the new heroes who debuted since the group initially formed when they head into the second showdown with Thanos.
Iron Man
After being spared by Thanos, Tony Stark can be seen adrift in space with limited supplies and oxygen. Although Nebula appears to be with him, the unlikely companions seem to be lost with little chance of being rescued, though it is hard to imagine that Stark will spend most of what could be his final adventure away from the action.
Captain America
The First Avenger will unsurprisingly return for the conclusion of the first decade of Marvel Studios stories and he is determined to undo Thanos’ decimation. Of course, many fans are concerned that reversing the decimation could come at a great cost for Captain America considering Chris Evans’ contract expired with Avengers: Endgame.
Black Widow
Natasha Romanoff, a.k.a Black Widow, returns for Avengers: Endgame and it appears she’s been assessing the consequences of Thanos’ actions. Standing by Captain America’s side as they head to attempt to reverse the decimation, Black Widow seems confident that their plan cannot fail.
Thor
Although Thor nearly defeated Thanos by stabbing through the chest with Stormbreaker, The Mad Titan had enough energy left to use the Infinity Stones to heal himself while erasing 50% of the population in the universe. Now, a contemplative Thor can be seen in the Avengers: Endgame trailer and one can’t fault him for reflecting on the fact that victory was almost in his grasp.
Nebula
Nebula and Rocket Raccoon were the only Guardians of the Galaxy characters to survive Thanos’ wrath, with former being left alone on Titan with Tony Stark. With the film expected to conclude Thanos’ and Nebula having more reason than most to see the Mad Titan brought to justice, fans are hoping she will have an extensive role Avengers: Endgame.
Ronin
The new trailer also confirmed that Hawkeye will assume the Ronin mantle when he returns and the death of family is the likely reason for his new identity. It appears Natasha will attempt to recruit her old friend when they embark on a mission to defeat Thanos, but whether or not Hawkeye agreed to join them remains to be seen.
Ant-Man
After the mid-credits scene for Ant-Man and the Wasp, many were theorizing that the Avengers would have to rescue Scott Lang from the Quantum Realm and subsequently use the alternate dimension to travel back in time to defeat Thanos. While it appears Scott Lang managed to escape on his own, he may have brought the van containing the way to the Quantum Realm to the Avengers’ front door.
Bruce Banner
While the Hulk was absent from the first Avengers: Endgame trailer, Bruce Banner managed to make a brief appearance. The brilliant scientist could be seen assessing the list of casualties of Thanos’ decimation and it has clearly taken an emotional toll.
