As Marvel expands its multiverse storytelling into darker territory, Spider-Noir promises a strikingly different take on the Spider-Man mythology. Set in 1930s New York City, the noir-inspired series follows an ageing private investigator and masked vigilante grappling with his past in a shadowy alternate universe.
Ahead of the series’ global release on Prime Video on May 27, Morris and Rodriguez spoke to Mint about stepping into the expansive Spider-Man universe, collaborating with industry veterans, and exploring emotionally layered characters in the stylised period drama.
Q: How is it joining this expansive world of Spider-Man?
Karen: It’s like a dream come true. It’s the type of job that you dream about. It has everything — the beautiful people, and it’s super talented, the kind of unique take on it, and of course, you know, I mean, who doesn’t want to work with the Spider and Nicolas Cage? I mean, it’s just a dream come true.
Q: How was it working with Nicolas Cage and Brendan Gleeson, two major veterans of the industry?
Lamorne: That was a masterclass in performance. They have two completely different styles off camera. It’s so funny to watch them prepare for a scene. There’s this moment — I’m not going to spoil anything — but there is a big moment that happens where you’re just kind of watching those two go at it. Like I said, it’s a lesson in performance, 100%. I was picking up a lot of things from both of them, and you get to see why they are who they are.
Q: Janet is a brand-new character. What excited you most about playing her?
Karen: She just jumped off the page. I thought she was a very powerful woman, the smartest in the room. She has friends that allow her to be herself and embrace her full capabilities, and she believes in herself. I thought that was so moving to me.
It’s just an honour to bring her to life, and I think it was exciting to kind of make that mark of the character on film for the first time, with me embodying it. I thought that was very powerful to me. I hardly get to do period pieces, and it was just really fun.
Q: Lamorne, your character Robbie has an honest yet emotionally complex relationship with Ben. Robbie wants Ben to embrace his true self as the Spider, partly to control Silvermane, but does he also believe Ben is mentally in a better place when he becomes the Spider? How do you balance those two sides of the relationship?
Lamorne: A little bit of that, but I also think Robbie has his ear to the street a little bit more. He understands what the people need, and he says it in the first episode, where he says the people could use a hero.
In your own household, you have to be a hero, and you have to start there. You don’t need a cape or a mask to be that. However, there are some forces that seem to be a little greater than our own comprehension, like superhumans walking the earth. You have someone like the Spider, and selfishly he wants the people to better themselves, but he also wants the Spider to do what he’s supposed to do. Ben has been in a bit of a rut, so as his friend, he wants him to kind of healthy himself up, if that makes sense.
All episodes of Spider-Noir arrive on Prime Video on 27 May.
