Spider-Noir composers bring Nicolas Cage’s Emmy-nominated score to life

Spider-Noir composers Kris Bowers and Michael Dean Parsons perform a 14-minute version of their Emmy-nominated score

Emmy-nominated composers Kris Bowers and Michael Dean Parsons have brought their Spider-Noir score to life with a new 14-minute live-to-picture performance film, giving fans an extended look at the music behind Nicolas Cage’s Marvel series.

The composers performed their “Spider Suite” with a chamber orchestra at Sony’s For Your Consideration event, with Bowers playing piano. The footage was later re-edited and remixed into the 14-minute performance film.

Bowers and Parsons earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the Spider-Noir episode “Step Into My Office.” The series received 11 Emmy nominations overall, making it Prime Video’s most-nominated series of the year.

Starring Nicolas Cage as Ben Reilly, Spider-Noir follows a struggling private investigator and New York’s lone superhero in the 1930s. The series combines classic film noir with Marvel’s Spider-Man mythology, requiring the composers to create a score that could capture both worlds.

Rather than copying traditional noir or superhero music, Bowers and Parsons developed a distinctive sound combining orchestral music, jazz, electronic elements and experimental textures. Their unusual musical palette includes distorted theremins, detuned penny whistles, electric guitar and percussion recorded from New York City streets.

The composers previously collaborated on the main title theme for Bridgerton, which also earned them an Emmy nomination.

Bowers’ credits include Bridgerton, When They See Us, King Richard and The Wild Robot. Parsons has worked on Pain Hustlers, Queen Charlotte, The Wild Robot and Light & Magic.

The complete Spider-Noir soundtrack features 34 tracks running for more than an hour. The eight-episode series premiered on MGM+ on May 25 and arrived on Prime Video globally on May 27.