A childhood spent skipping school lunches to buy comic books has led Abraham Popoola to a role he calls the biggest of his career. Ahead of the Spider-Noir premiere, the British actor sat down with the YouTube channel Marvel Cinematic Universe News for an extended conversation about becoming the first actor to bring Tombstone to life in live action, the research that shaped his 1930s-set performance, and what it was like sharing scenes with Nicolas Cage. Here is what he revealed.
Popoola plays Lonnie Lincoln, the character better known to comic fans as Tombstone, marking the first time the villain has appeared in a live-action project. He told the channel the significance of that milestone had not fully sunk in, calling it “a great honor” while admitting he still associates the character most strongly with his first exposure to Tombstone in the mid-1990s Fox Kids Spider-Man animated series.
He also revealed that he did not know which character he had been cast as when he first auditioned for Spider-Noir. It was only once he was in the room with the showrunners that he learned he would be playing Tombstone, a moment he described as a genuine surprise.
Popoola’s connection to the character runs deeper than casting. He told Marvel Cinematic Universe News that as a child, he would regularly skip buying lunch at school to save money for comic books, building up a personal collection that began with the debut issue of Ultimate Spider-Man and later expanded to include Amazing Spider-Man issues. He still keeps a box of those comics at home.
That history is part of why he approached the role the way he did. He described feeling a responsibility to the version of himself that first fell in love with these characters, saying his job as an adult was to look after that childhood dream rather than simply perform a part.
Dropping the Albinism and Building Lonnie Lincoln From Scratch
One of the more notable creative decisions in Spider-Noir is the choice to leave out Tombstone’s traditional albinism, a defining visual trait in the comics. Popoola said that detail has historically gone hand in hand with the character, so playing Lonnie Lincoln without it required building the performance on entirely different foundations.
He explained that once he saw how differently the show was treating its wider cast of characters, from its take on Sandman to its version of Electro, he understood the assignment was to create an alternate take on Tombstone rather than replace prior depictions. He said he is genuinely looking forward to seeing Marvin Bagley III’s take on the character in Brand New Day, calling it a different but equally valid version existing in the same multiverse.
Researching 1930s New York and Discovering Boardwalk Empire
Because the series is grounded in a real historical period, Popoola said his preparation leaned heavily on research into what it was like to live in New York during the Great Depression, including the experience of Black veterans returning from war and life in the Hoovervilles that sprang up across the city at the time.
He also credited the HBO series Boardwalk Empire as a major research tool, revealing that he had coincidentally started rewatching the show only months before landing the Spider-Noir role, partway into its second season. He called it some of the best research material available, given how thoroughly the show recreated its period setting, and noted the added coincidence that castmate Jack Huston, a Boardwalk Empire alum, plays one of his closest collaborators in Spider-Noir.
Filming in Black and White and Color
Spider-Noir was shot in both black and white and color, and Popoola said he was not even aware that color was part of the plan until several weeks into filming. He credited the cinematography, lighting, and costume departments, singling out costume designer Tracy for the challenge of designing looks that would read well in both formats.
Watching scene playback, he said, occasionally shifted his performance choices once he understood how the visual style would affect the final product. He also spoke about the added difficulty of expressing emotion through increasingly pronounced prosthetic makeup as the season progresses, saying it took time to trust that his intended expressions were still reading through the prosthetics, with support from the makeup team helping him adjust.
Working With Nicolas Cage, Brendan Gleeson, and Lamar Morris
Popoola had strong praise for his co-stars. On Nicolas Cage, who leads the cast, he said watching his dedication on set was “like being around a magician,” crediting him with setting a tone of seriousness and care for a production he called a significant creative risk for Marvel.
He also praised Brendan Gleeson’s performance as Silvermane, describing him as an “actor’s actor” who brought unexpected groundedness and menace to the role, and said working alongside him taught him about the value of focus and awareness on set. On Lamar Morris, who plays Robbie Robertson, Popoola said the two of them filmed their first scene together months before the rest of the cast began production, calling him “magnetic” and predicting audiences will fall for his performance.
What Comes Next for Tombstone
Asked about a potential second season, Popoola said he would welcome more time in the world of Spider-Noir, including the possibility of a Sinister Six storyline, but stressed that the first season was built to stand on its own as a complete story. He described the character’s arc in the debut season as one of the most rewarding of his career so far and said he hopes audiences connect with Lonnie Lincoln as a person, not just a villain, regardless of whether more episodes follow.
