Nicolas Cage has been linked to the role of Spider-Man Noir in the upcoming animated film Into The Spider-Verse. This Sony flick will introduce comic book movie audiences to the idea of parallel universes, where alternate versions of Spidey crusade against crime in their own unique ways.

Spider-Man Noir regularly turns up in comic book events and video games with similar universe-hopping plots. This iteration of Peter Parker became Spidey in 1933. He wears a low-key black leather costume and regularly uses a pistol to compliment his combat skills and spider abilities. He’s part of the film-noir-inspired Marvel Noir universe, and he generally brings a more pulpy vibe into these big crossover events.

Nicolas Cage is a massive comic book fan, who even chose his surname as a reference to Marvel’s Luke Cage character. He previously played Ghost Rider in two live-action movies, and was at one time attached to play Superman in Tim Burton’s Superman Lives. That film ultimately never got made, but Cage wound up voicing Superman in Teen Titans Go! To The Movies (which also comes out this year).

Cage seems like a strong choice to voice Spider-Man Noir, although we should stress that this casting is just a rumour at this stage. Discussing Film broke the story, citing unnamed sources with knowledge of the production. We’ll take this news with a pinch of salt, then, until an official announcement is made by Sony.

Into The Spider-Verse already has three spider-themed heroes in its cast: the original Peter Parker (who’ll be voiced by Jake Johnson), Miles Morales (played by Shameik Moore) and Gwen Stacey (Hailee Steinfeld).

Into The Spider-Verse has a UK release date of December 14th 2018, and the trailer is below…

We’ll keep you posted as we hear more.