Spider-Man Noir Series Nabs The Perfect Showrunner

As initially reported, Spider-Man Noir will follow an iteration of Spider-Man who works as a private detective in 1930s New York, solving crimes with gritty darkness and bleak realism not seen in most fun-loving Spidey outings. In fact, the upcoming series’ titular superhero won’t even be a Peter Parker, but will instead serve as one of the many other alternate universe characters to take on spider powers. Recent Spider-Man outings have seen studios shifting away from the standard Peter Parker Spider-Man, with other heroes such as Miles Morales taking front and center in both the Spider-Verse franchise, as well as the PlayStation video games.

Given that Spider-Man Noir is set to be a dark, grizzled version of the character, who lives within the throes of the Great Depression and vehemently opposes the upcoming tyrannical rise of Nazi Germany, it makes perfect sense that Steve Lightfoot be brought on to rudder the ship. Lightfoot previously helmed Netflix’s hit The Punisher series starring Jon Bernthal, which has been hailed for its graphic violence and dark tone. The series ran for two seasons at the streamer before being canceled due to Disney unceremoniously demanding all its IP be pivoted to Disney+ like a concerned parent demanding their kids come home before the street lights turn on.

Before signing on for Spider-Man Noir, Lightfoot also developed the Charlie Hunnam-led Apple TV+ series Shantaram. The co-showrunner also holds producer credits for series such as Narcos, Hannibal, and House of Saddam. The upcoming Noir series is also being executive produced by The Lego Movie filmmaking duo Phil Lord and Christopher Miller, as well as former Sony Pictures Chairperson Amy Pascal.

Lord and Miller are currently developing the series for Amazon Prime Video as part of their overall deal with Sony, who owns the rights to a pantheon of hundreds of Spider-Man characters within the extended comic universe. An iteration of Noir Spider-Man first appeared on the big screen in 2018’s Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse, voiced by Nicolas Cage. Despite an ongoing deal between Sony and Marvel allowing the MCU to utilize certain Spider-Man characters such as the Green Goblin, Doctor Octopus, and the eponymous web-slinger himself, there seem to be no plans to stage a full crossover between the studios, meaning Spider-Man Noir and Silk: Spider Society will not occupy the existing canon of Tom Holland’s take on the hero.