While Sony has yet to confirm even a single game for PlayStation 5, persistent hearsay circulating online over the last few months appears to have revealed at least one highly anticipated next-gen title. Spider-Man 2, the sequel to Insomniac’s acclaimed spin on Marvel’s web-slinging hero, is heavily rumored to already be in active development, though early reports seem to indicate that it won’t be finished in time for the new hardware’s expected launch later this year.
With that said, a thread appearing yesterday on the Gaming Leaks and Rumors subreddit claims to have further inside knowledge of the project, including names for several major villains that Peter Parker will be squaring off against. According to u/UtopianThrowaway90, the primary antagonist for Spidey’s follow-up adventure will be Oscorp. In attempting to create its own super-soldiers through DNA cloning, the experiment goes sideways, inadvertently leading to the creation of several threats to Manhattan’s civilian population. In addition to that, existing members of Spider-Man’s extensive rogues gallery will be present, with some receiving entirely unique origin stories.
Harry Osborn, not Eddie Brock, for example, will become Venom during the course of the game, with Insomniac shooting for a unique take on the character, according to the leaker’s sources. In addition, both Carnage and Mysterio will star, though in what capacity is unknown. UtopianThrowaway does claim that Brock will feature, however, so it’s not entirely impossible that he’ll take up the mantle of Carnage, replacing longtime host Cletus Kasady.
All speculation at this point, of course, though assuming all of the above to be true, it certainly looks as if Insomniac is attempting to make the franchise its own with the sequel. With any luck, Sony will have an official announcement for Spider-Man 2 to share in the near future, so watch this space for more.