Nicolas Cage says he is glad Prime Video canceled Spider-Noir after one season, and he is not bothering to hide it. The actor, who played Ben Reilly in the animated series, says the show said everything he wanted to say, and he has no desire to go back.

The series arrived on Prime Video earlier this year as an animated take on New York’s resident web-slinger. It was released in both black and white and color, and it drew strong reviews when it launched. Then it slipped out of the streamer’s top 10. In September, Prime Video officially pulled the plug.

Most actors would sound disappointed. Cage sounds like a man who just got out of a long contract. In a statement, he said, “For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man. Onwards, upwards, inwards.”

No Return to Ben Reilly

Cage doubled down on that sentiment in early November, when he spoke to a reporter on the red carpet for his upcoming sports comedy Madden. The reporter asked whether there was still more of Ben Reilly’s story left to tell. Cage did not hesitate.

“No,” Cage said. “I meant it when I said what I said. It’s a perfect season. You never wanna get stuck repeating a character and wear out your welcome.”

He explained why the role was so demanding. Ben Reilly, in his view, is an idiosyncratic character, and the work involved high-risk, tightrope acting. Stretching that across a second and third season, he argued, would have been the danger. That is why he said he reacted with relief when the show was not picked up.

“So when they didn’t pick it up, I was like, ‘Whew, thank you!’ Because now I’m doing True Detective, and that’s only one season. It’s better that way, you know? I don’t like repeating myself. It’s perfect, and I love that character. I love that season, and it will always be there and always be fresh.”

That last line is the real tell. Cage is not treating the cancellation as a loss he needs to cope with. He is treating it as a finished piece of work that will not be cheapened by a sequel nobody asked for.

The Amazon Breaking Point

Creative fatigue is only part of the story. Cage also made it clear that he will not be back on Spider-Noir under any circumstances, and the reason has nothing to do with scheduling. He parted ways with Amazon over its position on artificial intelligence.

In a blistering statement, Cage revealed that he refused to sign a waiver that would have allowed AI to be used on the animated series. He then confirmed that he is unlikely to work with the company again.

“Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of $50 billion invested in OpenAI. 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 not work with that studio again, but that’s OK.”

That is a rare public split between a major star and a streaming giant, and Cage delivered it without softening a word. He framed the refusal as a matter of principle, not a negotiating tactic.

This is not a new position for him. At the 2025 Saturn Awards, Cage made his views on the technology plain. He said that robots cannot reflect the human condition for actors, and he warned that letting an AI system touch a performance, even slightly, is a dead end. Once that starts, he argued, an inch becomes a mile, and the integrity of art gives way to financial interests.

“We can’t let that happen,” he said at the time. Spider-Noir, it turns out, was the moment he drew that line in practice.

What Comes Next

Cage is already moving on. His next major release is Madden, arriving in theaters November 18, in which he plays the legendary coach and broadcaster John Madden. The performance has already become a source of viral debate among fans, who are split on whether the casting works.

For Prime Video, the story ends with a canceled show and a star who is happy to see it go. For Cage, it is a reminder that he has spent his career choosing roles he can walk away from. One season, one perfect run, and then he is gone.