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Greek officials sought to reassure local and foreign producers this week at the Thessaloniki Film Festival that the country’s 40% cash rebate is still on track, after the announcement last month that the Mediterranean nation was delaying plans to reopen its popular incentive scheme.

That decision came after Greece pressed pause on its cash-back program in May to clear more than €100 million ($107 million) in outstanding debts. Greek officials now insist the program is set to resume in January, with Leonidas Christopoulos, CEO of state audiovisual body Creative Greece, insisting the further delay was necessary for the government to square its accounts.

“You cannot be credible — especially abroad — if you have a huge backlog and reopen the platform,” Christopoulos told Variety. “It wouldn’t be credible.”

Since launching in 2019, Greece’s rebate scheme has helped the Mediterranean nation land high-profile productions including Rian Johnson’s Netflix blockbuster “Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery...

The Greek government has further delayed reopening the country’s popular 40% tax rebate for international film and TV productions until January 2025 as it strives to clear a funding backlog and receive a fresh budget.

The rebate has been closed for new applications since May 1. It was expected to formally reopen on October 1, administered by the newly-created Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre - Creative Greece (Hfac-Creative Greece).

However, Screen understands international film and TV productions hoping to shoot in Greece this year have been assured by Leonidas Christopoulos, CEO of Hfac-Creative Greece, they will be still able to access the rebate.

Longlegs star Nicolas Cage voiced the Marvel Comics character Spider-Man Noir in the animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and now he’s set to play the character in live-action for an upcoming MGM+ and Prime Video series that appears to be going by the title Spider-Noir. During an interview with The New Yorker, Cage dropped some quotes about Spider-Noir, mentioning that the show is expected to consist of eight episodes… and it will involve monsters.

Spider-Noir first came up in the conversation when Cage was asked if he sees himself as part of a category of actors. He said, “The fantasy would be that I could try to aspire to be something more Golden Age. You know, something more like James Cagney or Humphrey Bogart. Or Hedy Lamarr or Bette Davis. I wanted to have that kind of aura, you know, like the more enigmatic, you don’t know too much.