Nicolas Cage has drawn a hard line against artificial intelligence in Hollywood. The 62-year-old actor revealed during a panel at New York Comic Con on Saturday, October 10, 2026, that he refused to sign an AI waiver for his Prime Video series Spider-Noir and will likely never work with Amazon MGM Studios again. His comments came just weeks after Amazon cancelled the Marvel series following one season, despite it earning 11 Emmy nominations.
What Nicolas Cage Said at New York Comic Con
Speaking on the Empire Stage during a “Spotlight on Nicolas Cage” panel, the actor explained why he declined to sign the waiver that would have allowed Amazon to use AI technology on Spider-Noir.
“Amazon is a very AI-friendly company, to the tune of $50 billion invested in OpenAI. 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 him use AI on Spider-Noir. I’m probably not going to be working with that studio again, but that’s okay.”
The actor’s frustration goes beyond one contract. He told the Comic-Con audience that he is actively looking for new creative partners who share his views on technology and filmmaking.
“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. They’re doing it from scratch and by hand. I want to get with that.”
Cage specifically praised Kane Parsons, the young director behind Backrooms, who moved from YouTube to Hollywood. Parsons has publicly called generative AI “genuinely harmful” to creativity and “cultural and economic rot,” saying he would make it disappear forever if he could.
Why Spider-Noir Was Cancelled
Amazon cancelled Spider-Noir in September 2026, days before the Emmy Awards, despite the show receiving the most nominations of any Prime Video program that year. The series, which starred Cage as Ben Reilly in a 1930s-style Spider-Man story, had amassed 2.6 billion minutes viewed in its first six weeks.
The cancellation was driven by finances, not viewership alone. The show cost an estimated $400 million for its single season, partly because it was filmed in both color and black-and-white versions, requiring nearly a year of reshoots. That worked out to roughly $50 million per episode, making it one of the most expensive productions Prime Video had ever undertaken.
Reports from Deadline and other trade outlets indicated that the viewership, while respectable, did not justify the massive cost. Amazon has not publicly linked the cancellation to Cage’s refusal to sign the AI waiver, and no evidence confirms a connection between the two decisions.
Cage’s Long History of Speaking Out Against AI
The Spider-Noir dispute is not a sudden change of heart for Cage. He has been vocal about his concerns regarding AI for years.
In a July 2024 interview with The New Yorker, Cage said he was “terrified” of AI and worried about what studios might do with digital scans of his face and body after his death.
“They’re just going to steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital AI. God, I hope not.”
At the Saturn Awards in February 2025, Cage doubled down, calling AI performances a “dead end” and warning that actors must resist even small compromises.
“Robots cannot reflect the human condition for us. That is a dead end. If an actor lets one AI robot manipulate his or her performance even a little bit, an inch will eventually become a mile and all integrity, purity, and truth of art will be replaced by financial interests only.”
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Amazon’s Massive AI Investment
Cage’s reference to Amazon’s $50 billion investment in OpenAI is accurate. Amazon announced the multi-year strategic partnership in February 2026, starting with an initial $15 billion investment followed by another $35 billion when certain conditions were met. The investment gave Amazon roughly a 5 percent stake in the ChatGPT maker.
That figure has become a flashpoint in Hollywood’s ongoing debate about AI. Industry unions including SAG-AFTRA and the Writers Guild of America recently secured new contract protections against AI. The 2026 SAG-AFTRA agreement, ratified in June 2026, restricts the use of synthetic performers and requires studios to prove that AI actors add “significant additional value” compared to human performers.
What Comes Next for Cage
Cage confirmed during the same Comic-Con panel that he is in talks to lead a season of HBO’s True Detective. He announced it himself, joking: “My agent’s out there somewhere listening. That’s okay that I’m the first to announce that, right?”
HBO has not officially confirmed his casting. True Detective is an anthology crime series where each season features a new cast and standalone story. The show’s fourth season aired in 2024.
Cage is also attached to star as John Madden in an upcoming Amazon film, which may be his final project with the studio. Spider-Noir remains available to stream on Prime Video for viewers who want to see his performance in the role.
Also Read: Nicolas Cage’s Best Pancakes in the County Gets November 20 Release After IFC U.S. Rights Deal
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