Marvel's Spider-Man 2 similar to 'The Empire Strikes Back' in tone

Published , by Donovan Erskine

Insomniac Games brought the house down at the latest PlayStation Showcase when it revealed not one, but two new Marvel games in development. Marvel’s Wolverine and Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 are both currently in production for PlayStation consoles. As for the latter, we’ll have to wait until 2023 to see what’s next for Peter Parker and Miles Morales, but Marvel has shined some light on what fans can expect from the game. Creative Vice President of Marvel Games Bill Rosemann has likened Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 to The Empire Strikes Back in regards to tone.

Bill Rosemann appeared in the latest episode of the This Week in Marvel podcast, where he talked about the upcoming titles from Insomniac Games. "If the first Spider-Man game was Star Wars, Spider-Man 2 is kind of our Empire [Strikes Back]," he said during the interview. Whereas the 1977 Star Wars was fairly whimsical in nature, The Empire Strikes Back is iconic for taking the franchise in a much darker, more mature direction. Rosemann teases a similar follow-up for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2.

Rosemann’s comments line-up with what we already know about Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. The reveal trailer confirmed that Venom would play a major role in the story. If you’re familiar with past adaptations of the character, or have read some of the source material, then you know that Spider-Man’s relationship with Venom opens the door for some much more mature themes and concepts than what we got in the first game.

It’s also widely understood that the voiceover heard during the trailer is none other than Kraven the Hunter. Again, with dialogue that seems indicative of Kraven’s Last Hunt, we seem to be gearing up for a darker story in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. As to what that story will entail, we’ll have to wait until the sequel hits shelves in 2023.