The Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater series is known for many things. Great soundtracks, gameplay, and level design, just to name a few. However, the most surprising facet of the beloved skateboarding series is the guest skaters that somehow make the playable roster. Some have been legitimately surprising, including some truly great pop culture icons spanning music, movies, and other popular media. Even the worst entries in the franchise had awesome guest skaters like the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Tyler, The Creator.
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With Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 releasing this July, many fans have questioned which guest skaters will be added to the playable roster. Both Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 have some of the most iconic playable guest skaters the series has ever seen. This includes the Doom Guy, who will appear in the upcoming remake thanks to the Deluxe Edition. Despite this, others will likely never be seen in a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game ever again. As such, we took a look at all the guest skaters from the series that we believe will be absent from any future titles.
Marvel Characters (Wolverine, Spider-Man, Iron Man)
Between Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 and Tony Hawk’s Underground, three characters from the beloved comic book company Marvel were featured as unlockable guest skaters. Spider-Man was in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2, Wolverine was in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3, and Iron Man was in Tony Hawk’s Underground.
Like other items on this list, much of the reasoning behind their probable absence from future Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater games involves licensing, exclusivity, or popularity. In this specific case, it has to do with exclusivity. Peter Parker has his own PlayStation-exclusive video game series with Insomniac Games. That same studio is making a PlayStation-exclusive Wolverine game. For Iron Man, EA’s Motive is developing a game based on Tony Stark and his iconic armor. While it isn’t exclusive, it is under EA’s umbrella, which may affect his ability to appear as a guest.
Daisy
Daisy was a guest skater for Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 and is probably the most provocative of the list. Although she isn’t a pop culture icon like Spider-Man, her appearance is based on former adult entertainment star Jenna Jameson, who also provided the voice for the character. Considering Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 1+2 wiped Bam Margera off the Tony Hawk’s Underground 2 sign, I think Activision is probably trying to avoid anything controversial. As a result, it is highly unlikely Daisy will ever be in a future Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater game.
Shrek
Shrek is kind of relevant at the moment. A teaser for the 5th mainline film was released very recently, giving eager viewers a glimpse of what to expect from DreamWorks’ newest entry. However, the grumpy ogre was featured in 2004’s Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, the same year Shrek 2 was released in theaters. Shrek 5 isn’t releasing until 2026, which is a whole year after Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4 releases. Also, Activision was publishing the licensed games for the film, adding to that synergy. Shrek’s inclusion doesn’t make sense now, and will probably be sidelined for the series’ foreseeable future.
Star Wars Characters (Darth Maul and Jango Fett)
Star Wars characters Darth Maul and Jango Fett were playable guest skaters in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 and Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 4 respectively. This partially falls under a similar category as the Marvel characters. There aren’t exclusivity rights to any of these characters, but the people in charge of choosing studios to develop Star Wars games are not choosing any studios under Activision’s umbrella. There is also the popularity aspect, specifically for Jango Fett. While Darth Maul has become a beloved Star Wars character since his appearance in Episode 1: The Phantom Menace, Jango Fett’s legacy is not as admired. While it would be sick to see this duo back in the remake, it seems pretty doubtful they’ll make an appearance.
Judy Nails
Some of you may recognize this name. Judy Nails is a character from Activision’s once tremendously popular rhythm game franchise Guitar Hero. In 2007, Activision released Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock, arguably the best installment in the long-running series. That same year, the publisher released Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground, Neversoft’s last entry in the skateboarding video game franchise. Like Shrek, there was a sort of synergy happening with these releases. The timing was right which led to Judy Nails becoming a playable character in the Birdman’s video game.
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Unfortunately, Guitar Hero is effectively dead. Sure, Activision just teased a nonexistent game called Guitar Hero Mobile, but Guitar Hero Live was its last attempt to bring plastic instruments back to everyone’s living rooms, and it failed. Judy Nails is probably the least relevant character on this list, and will likely not be seen in a game again.
Gene Simmons
If there is one thing everyone knows about Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater soundtracks, it’s that they’re all generally great. So, it was only a matter of time before some of these musicians would skate their way into one of the many entries. Tyler, The Creator, Lil Wayne, Green Day’s Billie Joe Armstrong, and Metallica’s James Hetfield are just a few names of famous musical artists who have graced the skateboarding video game series. All of those musicians are relevant to some degree today, which means there is a very small chance they could return. It’s unlikely, but there is a chance.
One that really isn’t relevant at all at this point is Kiss’ Gene Simmons. The Demon was featured in 2003’s Tony Hawk’s Underground along with a Kiss-themed stage. Additionally, the band had three songs on the game’s soundtracks from its album Kiss Symphony: Alive IV which was released that same year. Again, like some of the others on this list, there is a level of relevance that a guest skater has to achieve. Kiss finally put the makeup away and retired in 2023. Simmons is currently on tour without his iconic makeup, so there is some relevance there, but maybe not for the audience playing a Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater video game.
Who is your favorite Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater guest character, and which would you like to see in Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3+4? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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