Nicolas Cage dropped a bombshell at New York Comic Con’s Empire Stage, revealing that he refused to sign a waiver allowing Amazon to use AI on Spider-Noir. The show, which was Cage’s first starring television role, was canceled by Amazon in September after a single season, despite strong viewership and 11 Emmy nominations.“I am not an AI-friendly actor, so it’s like, connect those dots,”Cage told the crowd. He also said he’s“probably not going to be working with that studio again, but that’s okay.”
For context, Spider-Noir was developed by Oren Uziel and produced by Amazon MGM Studios with Sony Pictures Television. Its cancellation raised eyebrows immediately, given the Emmy recognition and the audience numbers. Cage’s comments don’t confirm that his AI stance caused the cancellation, and the studio hasn’t addressed it publicly, but the timeline has fans drawing their own conclusions. Cage described Amazon as a“very AI-friendly company”and made clear he isn’t part of that club.
The good news for Cage fans: he isn’t slowing down. His next project is HBO’s True Detective, which means the man is moving straight from a canceled comic book series to one of the most prestigious shows on television. Whether his AI stance becomes a bigger trend among actors is the real story to watch.
Would you stop watching a show if you found out it used AI to replicate an actor’s performance? Sound off in the comments.
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Local Lawton
Local Lawton is a contributor to LocalBeat, covering local news and community stories.