Spider-Man stories are typically colorful, splashy affairs, especially when translated to live-action or animation. The upcoming Spider-Noir show will continue that trend, it just may also do it without the vibrant palette we’ve become accustomed to.
In a recent interview with ComingSoon, actor Lukas Haas mentioned the series could get two releases, one in color and the other in black-and-white. During shooting, he said, the monitors were in monochrome, which made it “very, very, very authentic. I would actually go and look at the monitor and think I was looking at some older footage, but it was actually just what was on the camera at the time. They did a beautiful job with the filters and all that stuff, making it look like genuine old 1930s, black and white film.”
Spider-Man Noir’s previous onscreen appearances have made him and his universe black-and-white, keeping with the noir vibe that defines the hero. It’d be cool to have that continue in Spider-Noir; the last time Marvel used that stylized look was Werewolf by Night. Outside of that, there’s been Godzilla Minus Color and Hundreds of Beavers in recent years, and that’s just a small handful of examples. Visual flair is still something Marvel shows can struggle with, and this would be as good a time as any to experiment and do something different, especially since this is in its own universe and has a little more freedom.
Whether in color or black-and-white, Spider-Noir will air on MGM+.
