Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 Devs Want to “Give It Everything” With Potential Carnage Storyline

A pair of developers who worked on Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 at Insomniac Games have opened up about the potential to see Carnage appear in a future installment. As many Spider-Man 2 players have started to beat the game in recent weeks, questions have naturally turned to what might be next for Insomniac with this series. Currently, PlayStation hasn’t announced a new Spider-Man game, but the manner in which Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 ends certainly leaves many possibilities on the table. One of those possibilities happened to be associated with Carnage, which could be poised to show up as an antagonist in the future. 

***Warning: Spoilers for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 can be found below.***

In the conclusion of one of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s side quests, Cletus Kasaday makes an appearance and obtains the symbiote that eventually turns him into Carnage. Although Carnage himself isn’t seen in Spider-Man 2, Insomniac’s narrative director Ben Arfmann told io9 that the studio would eventually be interested in incorporating him in some manner. With Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, though, writer Brittney Morris noted that it was important for Insomniac to hone its focus on Peter, Miles, and Venom.

“Early on, we knew that we wanted to tell a great Venom story. Anything that would distract from that wasn’t on brand, but at the same time, we’re huge fans of Carnage and Cletus Kasady,” said Arfmann. “We didn’t want to shortchange that story by not giving it full service. At least in this game, we got to introduce our version of Cletus and also do some work on the relationship between Peter and Yuri Watanabe, who’s now become Wraith. If we’re gonna dive into that Carnage storyline, we want to make sure to really give it everything that it deserves.”

“For this game, our priorities were mainly on Pete and Miles, making sure to showcase them as developing heroes from beginning to end, and also doing a Venom story in our own way,” Morris added. “We also had a number of villains that deserve their own time on screen, and we didn’t just want to make them one-dimensional—we really wanted to give them motivations and desires. To do all of that in a way that’s meaningful and a good experience for players, you need time.”

One popular theory with fans has been that if Carnage does eventually appear in this series, it could be as DLC for Marvel’s Spider-Man 2. At this point in time, Insomniac hasn’t confirmed or denied that DLC is something that will even be happening, but post-launch content did eventually release for the original Marvel’s Spider-Man. That being said, even if DLC for the sequel did happen, Arfmann’s comments make it sound as though Carnage would be a villain explored more thoroughly in an eventual follow-up rather than via short-form content. 

Regardless of what the future might hold, how would you feel about Carnage potentially appearing in Marvel’s Spider-Man 3? And what other villains would you like to see show up outside of Carnage? Let me know either down in the comments or reach out to me on social media at @MooreMan12.