An Inch Becomes a Mile: Cage, Amazon and the Price of Saying No (2026)

The legend that is Nicolas Cage got on stage at New York Comic Con yesterday and told the audience that Amazon asked him to sign an “AI waiver for Spider-Noir,” which he refused, and it also means he probably won't work with the studio again, adding that he's “OK with that.”

His reasoning was blunt. Amazon has around $50 billion invested in OpenAI, he isn't an AI-friendly actor, so connect the dots. And this wasn't some flop quietly shelved. Spider-Noir racked up 2.6 billion minutes watched in its first six weeks, was Amazon's most-nominated show at this year's Emmys with 11 nominations and five wins, and was still cancelled after a single season last month.

What we should all be very worried about is the waiver, because if an Oscar winner is being handed paperwork about how his face and performance might be used, imagine what's being slid across the table to the jobbing actor, the session musician, the illustrator who needs the rent paid. The unions have won protections, but synthetic "actors" like Tilly Norwood keep making headlines, and nobody really knows where the line will settle.

Cage has been warning for a while that an inch given to AI soon becomes a mile. Saying no has probably cost him a studio, but saying it out loud, at a fan convention, to the people who actually love the work, may matter more than any contract clause.

Craft is worth protecting, even when it costs you.

(Image Copyright: 2026 Getty Images / Craig Barritt)