On Wednesday, Sony announced new details on Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered, an update of Marvel’s Spider-Man for Sony’s next-generation console, the PlayStation 5. The game will feature a few expected upgrades, like better graphics, a higher frame rate, and a few new Spider-Man suits. It will also feature some unexpected changes ... like a brand-new face for Peter Parker.
According to a new post on Sony’s PlayStation Blog, Peter Parker’s facial model has been changed in the remastered version of the game, from John Bubniak’s face to Ben Jordan’s. The blog post explains that in order to bring out the best possible visuals for the remastered version of the game, the development team needed a better match for the facial capture done by Yuri Lowenthal.
Possibly by coincidence, this new Peter Parker also happens to look a bit more like the MCU’s Peter, Tom Holland, than the previous actor did.
Insomniac community director James Stevenson goes into a few details about the game’s new next-gen visuals. The upgrades to the remastered version of the game will include ray-tracing for reflections and shadows, along with a new performance mode that will boost the game to 60 frames per second. The remastered game will also come with a few new suits, including one based on Andrew Garfield’s from the Amazing Spider-Man movies.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered will be available on PlayStation 5 on Nov. 12. Unfortunately, players who already own Marvel’s Spider-Man on PlayStation 4, won’t be able to upgrade to the new version for free. However, the Ultimate Edition of Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales will also include a code for the Remastered version of the original game and will retail for $69.99.
Update: Insomniac creative director Bryan Intihar tweeted a statement about the recasting to provide fans with a few more details about the studio’s decision:
Today’s news about the new Peter Parker face model has surprised some of you, and we at Insomniac totally understand your reaction. Heck, it even took me awhile to get used to Peter’s new look. But as we discussed the franchise’s future and moving to the PS5, it quickly became apparent that delivering even more believable-looking characters made finding a better facial match for actor Yuri Lowenthal — who we all love as Peter — a necessity.
We care as much about this character as your attachment to him, so please know we didn’t make this decision/change lightly. As we did throughout the development of Marvel’s Spider-Man, we’ll continue to read your comments, listen, and always be looking or ways to improve every facet of the game. At the same time, I hope you can trust us that this decision is what we feel is best for the future of the franchise and our upcoming goals for this beloved Marvel character.
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