Prime Video’s ‘Spider-Noir’ Death Sentence Confirms the Right Direction for the Spider-Verse’s Future

Despite incredible reviews and winning five out of 11 Emmy nominations, Prime Video has opted not to move forward with another season of Spider-Noir. However, Spider-Noir‘s ​​​​​​cancelation might actually be a blessing in disguise, since it both indicates the best path forward for future Spider-Verse television installments and sets a new standard for any upcoming projects featuring variants of the Friendly Neighborhood Wall-Crawler.

Prime Video’s ‘Spider-Noir’ Tells a Complete Story in One Season

Part of the beauty of Spider-Noir is that it offers a complete saga that revolves around New York’s only superhero, Ben Reilly (Nicolas Cage), AKA The Spider. While Reilly’s opening monologue — “Someone once asked me which universe this was” — briefly hints at the existence of the greater Spider-Verse and that he previously encountered beings from other worlds, the final episode doesn’t end on a cliffhanger, and there’s no sequel-baiting or setup for future seasons or other spin-offs.

Even Cage, a huge get for the series in his first major television role, seems to share that sentiment. Speaking to Deadline regarding the show’s cancellation, the actor explained, “For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man.” Ahead of the first season’s launch, he also informed Variety, “All of us achieved what we set out to do, and it works on its own.” The key takeaway from Cage’s comments is not criticism that the show won’t continue, but celebration of the fact that such a high-quality Spider-Man project existed in the first place.

‘Spider-Noir’ Offers the Perfect Model for Sony’s Spider-Verse

As a standalone adventure, Spider-Noir presents the perfect model for Sony’s franchise to utilize moving forward. The studio’s attempts to launch a big-screen Spider-Man universe have largely been a disaster outside of Tom Holland‘s films and the critical success of the Spider-Verse animated movies. Deadline has reported that in the wake of Spider-Noir‘s cancellation, Sony and Prime Video plan to develop future projects with Marvel characters that Sony has ownership of, specifically any who are available within the existing Spider-Family.

Deadline’s report also indicates that multiple projects are in development, with one nearing a series order, but rather than striving for multi-season projects, the Spider-Man TV universe should exist as its own franchise. Spider-Noir can ultimately serve as a chapter in a larger TV anthology, with each series focusing on a new hero or adventure rather than setting up a larger continuity. Additional seasons are nice, but there’s something to be said for standalone miniseries that can offer viewers a complete and finite experience.

‘Spider-Noir’s Standalone Model Also Fixes the MCU’s “Homework” Problem

Image via Prime Video

Recently, the greater Marvel Cinematic Universe has been in a bit of a decline, with the exception being the most recent sequel, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, which continues to break box office records. Even Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige pointed out that the franchise has become bogged down by too many spin-offs and offshoots, comparing the experience of watching every MCU TV series and movie to something “more like homework than entertainment.” A cohesive shared universe can be fun, but not every saga was meant to go on forever.

Debuting a series as a one-off event creates an easier entry point for fans, thus solving the MCU’s existing “homework” problem — if some viewers didn’t get around to watching Spider-Noir, for example, the next Spider-Verse series might be more to their liking. The best move forward is to make every new Spider-Man TV project a limited miniseries, starting with a live-action adaptation of Spider-Man 2099 starring Oscar Isaac as Miguel O’Hara. Regardless, Spider-Noir ending after only one season isn’t necessarily a mark of failure; it actually provides the perfect blueprint for Sony’s Spider-Man Universe on the small screen.