Insomniac’s “Spider-Man 2” Going Darker With New Villain

Spider-Man 2, the sequel to Insomniac’s 2018 smash hit, Spider-Man has been a hot topic of late. The first trailer released a couple weeks back and offered fans a first glimpse at what they can expect.

The trailer saw Peter Parker and Miles Morales in the midst of a fight with a local bad guys, when, seemingly out of nowhere, fan favorite villain Venom showed up in all his spiky-toothed glory. Audiences really took to this reveal, as the aforementioned symbiote is one of the most well-known baddies in the Webhead’s Rogue’s gallery and seems like a natural fit in the world of the games.

However, one thing not on display much in the trailer was the story of the game, and many have been scratching their heads as to where the game might be going. That’s changed a little, though, as vice president and creative director Bill Rosemann of Marvel Games recently sat down with the This Week In Marvel Podcast (via Eurogamer), and commented on the direction of the sequel, stating:

If the first Spider-Man game was Star Wars, Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire [Strikes Back]. It gets a little darker.

While this doesn’t provide any specific story details, it does, at least, illustrate the direction the creative team is trying to go in. Furthermore, Rosemann confirmed that both the X-Men’s Wolverine, himself the focus of an upcoming Insomniac game, and the infamous Kraven the Hunter will be featured in the overall narrative somehow.

And if the game truly is going in a darker direction, it could be that a sub-story of the game will focus on the classic storyline “Kraven’s Last Hunt”. This is considered to be one of the best comic stories ever written and sees the titular villain actually beating and seemingly murdering Spider-Man and taking his place. The webslinger eventually returns, forcing Kraven to return to his homeland and reevaluate his life, which culminates in the bad guy committing suicide.

This is a story that fans have been wanting to see adapted since the first Sam Raimi film hit cinemas over 20 years ago, and with the sprawling nature of Insomniac’s platform, and the admitted decision to take plunge into darker territory, this could be the perfect chance for the story to get told.

Whether this proves to be true or not, gamers have a while to wait, as Spider-Man 2 is scheduled for a 2023 release and will be available only on PlayStation 5.