Lamorne Morris Cast as Robbie Robertson in Spider-Man Noir

Prime Video’s upcoming series, Spider-Man Noir, has cast Lamorne Morrison as Robbie Robertson, according to Variety.

The series, now titled Spider-Noir, received a series order in May and stars Nicolas Cage in the titular role. It will debut on the linear channel MGM+ and be available internationally on Prime Video.

The show’s description reveals it tells “the story of an aging and down-on-his-luck private investigator (Cage) in 1930s New York, who is forced to grapple with his past life as the city’s one and only superhero.”

Morrison will be a series regular, portraying Robbie Robertson—a driven, hard-working journalist who won’t take no for an answer. As a black professional in 1930s New York facing substantial odds, he takes on riskier stories to gain attention and a paycheck. He’s committed to doing whatever it takes to succeed in his career.

Joseph “Robbie” Robertson was created by Stan Lee and John Romita Sr. and made his debut in the 51st issue of The Amazing Spider-Man in August 1967. Robertson was notable as one of the first black characters in comic history to take on a significant supporting role.

In the comics, Robertson is typically depicted as an editor at the Daily Bugle and a close friend of publisher J. Jonah Jameson. He’s one of the few employees at the Bugle not intimidated by Jameson, often standing up to him on editorial matters. Moreover, Robertson is shown to be more supportive and understanding of Spider-Man.

In the 1980s, the comics revealed Robbie’s backstory, which included a shared history with the supervillain Tombstone from high school. He was also a good friend of Captain George Stacy, Gwen Stacy’s father, and it has been hinted that he knows Spider-Man’s secret identity. His son Randy is one of Peter Parker’s closest friends and even shared an apartment with him at one point.

The character has appeared in various media adaptations, ranging from films to animated series and video games. In Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, he was portrayed by Bill Nunn. In the upcoming Prime Video series, Morrison will take on the role.

Lamorne Morrison is best known for his role as Winston Bishop in the Fox comedy series New Girl, which he starred in for seven seasons. Most recently, he appeared as Deputy Witt Farr in the Emmy Award-winning FX anthology series Fargo, and in Hulu’s comedy Woke.

His acting portfolio includes roles in CBS’ Ghosts, Fox’s Call Me Kat, and Disney+’s The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder. Upcoming projects include the film SNL 1975, where he will portray Garret Morris (no relation), the comedy-drama The Ridge, and the second season of Netflix’s comedy series Unstable.

Oren Uziel and Steve Lightfoot will serve as co-showrunners and executive producers for Spider-Noir. They developed the series in collaboration with the creative team behind Into the Spider-Verse, including Phil Lord, Christopher Miller, and Amy Pascal, who are also executive producers.

This series is part of Amazon and Sony’s partnership to develop Spider-Man shows. The first project, Silk: Spider Society, received a green light in 2022 but was eventually shelved in May.

Source: Variety