Nicolas Cage Says He May Never Work With Amazon Again After Rejecting Spider-Noir AI Waiver

Nicolas Cage has said he will "probably never work with" Amazon again after declining to sign a waiver related to artificial intelligence use on Spider-Noir, the live-action Marvel project that was set up for Prime Video before its cancellation last month.

Speaking during a New York Comic Con 2026 panel, Cage made clear that his resistance to AI is not simply a broad concern about where entertainment technology is heading. It is also a personal line he was unwilling to cross while working on the Spider-Man-adjacent series. Cage had been attached to lead the show as its noir-styled web-slinger, a character he previously voiced in the animated Spider-Verse films.

"Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of $50 billion invested in OpenAI," Cage said. "I'm not an AI-friendly actor. I'm not part of their club. I didn't sign the waiver to use AI on Spider-Noir. I'll probably never work with that studio again, but that's OK."

His remarks add a notable new wrinkle to the aftermath of Spider-Noir's cancellation. While the show will not move forward into a second season, Cage's comments suggest that returning to the project may not have appealed to him in any case if an AI-related condition remained part of the arrangement. No details were provided about the specific terms of the waiver or exactly how AI could have been used in connection with the production.

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The situation also lands at a moment when AI clauses, likeness rights, digital replicas, voice reproduction, and performance ownership are becoming central issues throughout film, television, games, animation, and other creative industries. Cage's comments focus on acting, but the underlying questions will be familiar to game players and developers: who controls an artist's work, where consent begins and ends, and whether contracts can sufficiently protect performers once their voice, image, or movements are captured as data.

Cage's opposition to AI has been consistent

This was not Cage's first public criticism of artificial intelligence. He has repeatedly voiced concern about systems that could reshape, imitate, or manipulate human performances. Earlier in 2025, while accepting recognition at the Saturn Awards, Cage argued that creative work should not be handed over to machines.

"I'm a big believer in not letting robots dream for us," Cage said at the time.

He went on to argue that robots cannot meaningfully reflect the human condition. In his view, even a seemingly limited use of AI to alter an actor's performance could lead to much broader compromises. Cage warned that a small concession could grow into something much larger, eventually allowing financial motivations to replace the integrity, purity, and truth that he believes art requires.

In 2024, Cage also described himself as "terrified" of AI. His latest comments at New York Comic Con show that those concerns have carried into his professional decisions. Rather than treating AI policy as an abstract debate, he presented his refusal to sign the Spider-Noir waiver as a practical consequence of his position.

For audiences, AI use in entertainment can feel distant until it becomes visible on screen. Yet contracts governing digital tools may have far-reaching implications long before viewers see a finished episode, movie, or game. A performer may be asked to approve uses of their likeness or voice that extend beyond a single role. Creative teams may face pressure to use automated tools for speed or cost savings. And consumers may have difficulty knowing whether a performance, character model, line reading, or visual effect was made directly by artists or derived from material used in a generative system.

Cage's stance is therefore part of a larger creative labor conversation, even if his remarks are rooted in one canceled Marvel production.

What the cancellation means for Spider-Noir

Spider-Noir was designed as a live-action take on the character Cage played in the animated Spider-Verse universe. The noir version of Spider-Man has become a distinct fan favorite thanks to his hard-boiled sensibilities, monochrome visual identity, and 1930s-inspired setting. Cage's vocal performance in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse helped establish the character as one of the franchise's most memorable alternate-universe heroes.

The Prime Video series would have given Cage the chance to bring that interpretation into live action. However, the project's cancellation ended those plans last month. Cage later addressed the news with a notably measured response, saying that one season was perfect for expressing what he wanted to say through the "dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man." He concluded by looking ahead: "Onwards, upwards, inwards."

That response indicates Cage did not see the canceled series as an unfinished artistic obligation. At the same time, his New York Comic Con statement makes clear that the AI waiver was a major point of disagreement. The two issues should not automatically be treated as the same thing: the series was canceled, and Cage separately said he declined the waiver. But together, they paint a picture of an actor prepared to leave the project and potentially the studio relationship behind rather than accept terms he opposed.

For Marvel fans, the loss of the series does not mean Cage is done with Spider-Man altogether. He is expected to return to the Marvel multiverse with a voice role in Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, currently slated for 2027. That appearance will give audiences another opportunity to hear his version of Spider-Noir, even though the planned live-action path has come to an end.

A vote for hands-on filmmaking

During the same panel, Cage also highlighted the kind of filmmakers he wants to work with moving forward. He praised Kane Parsons, the YouTuber-turned-director associated with Backrooms. Parsons has previously spoken about what he considers the harmful social consequences of generative AI, and Cage expressed enthusiasm for emerging creators who build their work directly rather than leaning on automated systems.

"I got to get with these young directors who are, you know, Gen Z, and they're going in it their own way, whether it's through the YouTube culture or whatever it is," Cage said. "They're doing it from scratch by hand. I wanna get with that."

The comments are revealing because Cage is not positioning himself as opposed to new talent, internet-born creators, or unconventional routes into filmmaking. Instead, he appears interested in artists who use accessible platforms and independent methods while retaining a hands-on relationship with the work. That distinction matters in a debate often reduced to a simple conflict between technological progress and creative tradition.

Video games have long demonstrated that new technology and human artistry can coexist. Advances in animation, motion capture, rendering, procedural tools, and accessibility have expanded what developers can make. But generative AI raises more specific questions because it can be used to imitate styles, replace portions of creative labor, or draw upon existing material in ways that creators may not have authorized. Cage's concern is not framed as a rejection of every technical innovation; it is a defense of human agency over performance and expression.

Cage still has major projects ahead

Even if Cage does not work with Amazon again after Spider-Noir, he remains connected to a high-profile project involving Amazon MGM. He is attached to play football coach and video game icon John Madden in Madden, which may become his final project with Amazon MGM.

The role carries obvious interest for gaming audiences. John Madden's name is inseparable from one of the most enduring sports game series ever made, and a film centered on his life has the potential to explore both his football legacy and the cultural impact of the Madden NFL franchise. Cage's involvement gives the project an especially distinctive casting choice, though further details about the production have not been established here.

Beyond Madden and his future Spider-Verse return, Cage is also expected to appear in the next season of True Detective. These upcoming roles underscore that his criticism of AI does not signal any retreat from acting. Rather, Cage appears to be drawing a boundary around the conditions under which he is prepared to work.

That boundary may resonate far beyond one performer or one streaming series. As studios, publishers, actors, voice artists, and developers negotiate the use of AI, decisions about consent are likely to become just as important as decisions about casting, budgets, and release plans. Cage's refusal to sign the Spider-Noir waiver is one of the clearest examples yet of a major star stating that those decisions can determine whether he works with a company at all.

For now, Spider-Noir remains canceled, the details of its AI waiver remain undisclosed, and Cage's relationship with Amazon appears deeply strained. But his position itself is unambiguous: he does not want artificial intelligence shaping his work, and he is willing to walk away from major opportunities to maintain that stance.