At New York Comic Con this weekend, Nicolas Cage said he declined to sign a waiver that would have permitted Amazon to use artificial intelligence in the production of Spider-Noir, and indicated he may not work with the studio again.
Cage said during a panel that “Amazon is a very AI friendly company to the tune of 50 billion dollars invested to OpenAI.” He continued, “I am not an AI friendly actor. I didn’t sign the waiver to let them use AI on Spider-Noir. I’m probably not going to be working with that studio again. But that’s OK.”
Cage played a gumshoe version of web-slinger Ben Reilly in the project, which Amazon dropped last month despite positive reviews.
snuffed out Spider-Noir last month, where Cage played a gumshoe version of web-slinger Ben Reilly. How much refusing AI factored into the decision is unconfirmed, but the finished project has a strong sound stage look that pairs nicely with private eye vibes. Despite the setback, Cage will still continue to play Reilly in Sony’s animated Spider-Verse films, where he first debuted as the character.
During the panel, Cage said that the Hollywood AI push has made him far more interested in working with younger directors, reared on YouTube DIY techniques and seem to be far more intolerant to the generative tech than older peers. He specifically cited hopes to collaborate with Backrooms director Kane Parsons, who has been a vocal AI critic as well.
Fans online obviously praised Cage for his decision making and refusing to play along with AI-generated entertainment. Amid the flowers, some posters used the opportunity to resurface rumors that Cage is a massive fan of Nintendo 64-era Bomberman games, now backed with photo evidence. It seems the actor is a man of good taste on multiple fronts.
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