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Nicolas Cage Announces True Detective Return, Likely No More Amazon
Confirmed
In Short: Nicolas Cage announced he will star in the upcoming fifth season of HBO's True Detective at New York Comic-Con, while likely not working with Amazon again.
At New York Comic-Con on Saturday, Nicolas Cage announced he will star in the upcoming fifth season of HBO's True Detective, confirming rumors that have circulated since last August.
Cage's announcement came during a spotlight panel where he also revealed he is probably not working with Amazon again after refusing to sign an AI waiver for the series 'Spider-Noir'.
Cage told the audience, 'That’s okay that I’m the first to announce that, right?' He added, 'I am not an AI-friendly actor, so it’s like, connect those dots! I’m not a member of their club. 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 okay.'
The actor's refusal to sign the waiver has been widely reported, with Cage stating, 'Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of $50 billion invested in OpenAI.'
Cage's comments about Amazon's AI policies were echoed by multiple outlets, including Comic Book Resources, IGN, and Variety, which reported that Cage's decision not to sign the waiver may have contributed to the cancellation of 'Spider-Noir' just days before it received 11 Emmy nominations.
Despite the cancellation, Cage expressed satisfaction with his work on 'Spider-Noir', saying, 'For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man.'
Cage also hinted at his desire to work with younger directors, stating, 'I got to get with these young directors who are Gen Z, and they’re going at it their own way, whether it’s through the YouTube culture or whatever it is.'
The actor's comments about Amazon's AI policies and his future work were reported by multiple outlets, including ComicBook.com and FandomWire, which noted that Amazon cited budgetary reasons for canceling 'Spider-Noir' despite its critical success.
While HBO has not officially confirmed Cage's involvement in True Detective, the actor's announcement at NYCC seems to confirm the rumors.
Cage's decision to work with HBO again and his refusal to work with Amazon highlights the ongoing debate in the entertainment industry about the use of AI in production.
The actor's comments about Amazon's AI policies and his future work with HBO reflect a broader trend in the industry where creatives are increasingly vocal about their concerns over AI usage and the ethical implications of signing away their likeness and ideas.
Background
Spider-Noir is an American superhero series developed by Oren Uziel for MGM+ and Prime Video. Based on Marvel Comics featuring the character Spider-Man Noir, the series follows an aging private investigator and superhero in 1930s New York City grappling with his past.
True Detective is an American anthology crime drama television series created by Nic Pizzolatto for the premium cable network HBO. The series premiered on January 12, 2014, and each season of the series is structured as a self-contained narrative, employing new cast ensembles, and following various sets of characters and settings.
What's confirmed
- Although Nicolas Cage’s first brush with starring in a regular TV show didn’t go amazingly —our own review of his first such effort, Prime Video superhero series Spider-Noir, noted that Cage struggled to fit himself into the bounds of the small screen, and the Amazon-owned streamer killed the show off after a single season.
- (Back in May, though, he told Variety that “nothing is concrete.”) But while HBO hasn’t commented on the announcement, the seemingly off-the-cuff reveal at NYCC seemed to confirm that Cage is, in fact, doing the show.
- But that hasn’t diminished Cage’s newfound love of television, either, as the actor appeared to somewhat spontaneously announce that he’s going to go ahead and make a new season of HBO’s True Detective.
- “That’s okay that I’m the first to announce that, right?” Cage asked, with a him-standard level of not really giving a shit, from the stage at New York Comic-Con on Saturday.
- Rumors that Cage might sign on for the HBO police series have been circulating since last August, with Cage himself noting that he’d been in then-still-casual conversations with True Detective: Night Country showrunner Issa López.
- Speaking on a panel on the Empire Stage at New York Comic Con, he said he refused to sign a waiver that would have allowed AI to be used on ‘Spider-Noir’, and that he will probably not work with Amazon again as a result.
- Nicolas Cage says he’s “probably not” working with Amazon again after refusing to sign an AI waiver for #SpiderNoir: “Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of $50 billion invested in OpenAI,” Cage said at #NYCC.
- Speaking during a spotlight panel at New York Comic Con on Saturday, Cage said he doesn't expect to be invited back for more Prime Video projects after refusing to sign Amazon's AI waiver for Spider-Noir.
- “I got to get with these young directors who are Gen Z, and they’re going at it their own way, whether it’s through the YouTube culture or whatever it is,” Cage said.
- “Spider-Noir” was canceled by Amazon’s Prime Video last month, mere days before it scooped up 11 Emmy Award nominations.
- "For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man," Cage said in a statement.
- “Because you can only do so many movies back to back to act, and necessity is the mother of invention, you can connect those dots too. What do I mean by necessity. Feed the family, and don’t do too many movies back to back to back. So I think I’m probably going to do another season of television,” he told the crowd.
What's still developing
- But Amazon, which doesn’t typically seem shy about spending money (we’re looking at you, Rings of Power budget), cited budgetary reasons for canceling the show just as it was finding its feet.
- Reuters originally reported that Amazon has built an “AI Studio,” led by executive Albert Cheng and focused primarily on streamlining production to cut costs, from pre-production planning to editing in post-production.
- Actor Nicolas Cage says he wants to work with more Gen Z directors and is unlikely to return to Amazon following his time on “Spider-Noir” earlier this year.
- Every other “creative” is signing away their likeness, their ideas, their soul, to ensure they’re still “in the race.” But no one became successful by following a trend, or taking work from the past and regurgitating it, and slapping on the label “ethical ai.” I would love to see more actors and creatives like Nic speak out against this, in an honesty way.
- Even an Emmy-winning Spider-Man series with a 92% Rotten Tomatoes score can get canceled after just one season, as proven by last week’s confirmation of Spider-Noir ’s disappointing fate on Prime Video.
- The actor went as far as to publicly drag Amazon through the mud by revealing that he refused to sign the AI waiver (which allowed Amazon to use his likeness, voice, and style for AI-generated content).
- This statement presents a new angle to the cancellation of the franchise, which was announced almost a month before Cage’s interview.
- Pedro Pascal was astonished to work alongside Nicolas Cage in 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent'.
- "So, I don't know how to describe what it was like in terms of being here and having this experience, because on the first day of shooting and saying 'Action!'. I'm in a scene with Nicolas Cage. I know how sycophantic it sounds, but that's the way it is."
- He's also expected to appear in the next season of True Detective, and he'll lend his voice chops to the Marvel universe once again when he shows up for Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse in 2027.
- Cage swung by New York Comic Con on Saturday morning, amid work on the film Perish in Minneapolis, as part of a “Spotlight” panel that spanned a career of critically acclaimed roles, action blockbusters, and indie and cult classics.
- “My agent’s out there somewhere listening,” Cage first told the crowd.