Nicolas Cage is playing a live-action Spider-Man Noir in his very own series, releasing next year. However, Sony has surprisingly revealed that his secret identity won’t be Peter Parker, a twist few likely saw coming.
While we’ve yet to see a full trailer, early promotional materials for 2026’s Spider-Noir have revealed a major change for the character compared to the comics, and even from Sony’s previous animated Spider-Verse movies. Here’s what we know about Ben Reilly, and why Sony likely decided to change Spider-Man Noir’s traditional name.
Nicolas Cage Will Be Playing Ben Reilly In Spider-Man Noir
At CCXP 2025, Sony recently released a very cool poster promoting 2026’s Spider-Noir: a shadowy office door labeled “Ben Reilly P.I.” with the character’s classic silhouette behind the frosted glass.
However, “Ben Reilly” is quite the surprising name change. After all, Spider-Man Noir’s secret identity in the comics has traditionally just been Peter Benjamin Parker. Similarly, Nicolas Cage’s animated Spider-Man Noir in Sony’s Spider-Verse movies also had the “Peter Parker” name.
Now, it seems as though Nicolas Cage will be playing an all-new Spider-Man Noir in live-action, one who might not even be connected to his previous animated depictions of the character, who was seen alongside multiple other Spider-Variants across the Great Web of Life and Destiny.
On the one hand, this could arguably allow for some greater narrative flexibility, while also allowing the live-action Noir to be even grittier/darker. However, the particular use of the “Ben Reilly” name has to be intentional, given its significance in the original Marvel Comics and greater Spider-Man mythos.
Who Is Ben Reilly In Spider-Man Comics
In the original comics, Ben Reilly was a Spider-Man clone created from Peter Parker’s extracted DNA by The Jackal during the infamous Clone Saga. Programmed to believe he was the original, Reilly eventually learned the truth, adopting the Scarlet Spider identity as his own Spider-Hero. For a time, he even became Spider-Man, carrying on Parker’s legacy while he stepped away.
In the main Marvel timeline, Ben Reilly exists as a parallel Spider-Man clone who ends up becoming his own hero. As such, Sony picking this particular name is likely quite intentional, the result of what’s likely complicated rights issues when it comes to live-action versions of Spider-Man/Peter Parker.
After all, 2024’s controversial Madame Web featured a pregnant Mary Parker who eventually gives birth to a son. While the baby is obviously meant to be Peter Parker, he was never named in the movie itself.
As such, there does seem to be a fair amount of evidence that the MCU’s Spider-Man (Tom Holland) is the only active live-action Peter Parker, and that there can’t be others (with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men being notable exceptions, having been featured in a project co-produced with Marvel Studios).
All things considered, going with “Ben Reilly” for Cage’s live-action Noir feels like a pretty clever workaround and fun comics nod on Sony’s part (assuming complicated rights are indeed the issue).
Spider-Man Noir’s Ben Reilly Is A Major Change From The Comics
Traditionally, the Spider-Man Noir universe, set in the 1930s, uses alternate-reality versions of characters, albeit with the same names. That includes Peter Parker himself. As a result, introducing Ben Reilly as Noir marks a major shift.
It’s technically possible that Sony isn’t simply adapting the classic Spider-Man Noir stories from the comics, but instead reinterpreting them through the lens of a clone identity and legacy. Perhaps they’re effectively merging the two alternate Spider-Man variants’ stories, with Cage’s Noir actually being a clone of an original Noir.
That said, it still feels like a strong bet that the “Ben Reilly” change is simply a means to get around the presumed rights issues with the Peter Parker name.
A full Spider-Noir trailer will likely provide more insight into the character’s specific origins, but it does seem likely that the name change will be just that: a simple name change with no major impact on the expected character himself.
Does This Mean Cage’s Spider-Verse Character Is Different?
Yes… and maybe no. On paper, the names between Cage’s animated Spider-Man Noir and his upcoming live-action version will be different. That said, this new Ben Reilly will more than likely be depicted pretty closely to the previous Spider-Man Noir, though perhaps with some more seriousness.
However, it remains to be seen if Sony will try to make him the same character, especially now that we know the name has been changed for live-action. Basically, viewers probably shouldn’t be holding their breath for a Rubik’s Cube Easter egg connecting to Into the Spider-Verse.
Regardless, audiences will no doubt still get the classic webs, wall-crawling, and masked heroism no matter what Spider-Man Noir’s name might be under the mask.
Sony’s Spider-Man Noir is expected to release on Prime Video and MGM+ in early 2026.
