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At the end of 2018’s “Marvel’s Spider-Man,” Insomniac Games delivered the tantalizing tease that Peter Parker‘s absent best friend Harry Osborn was being treated for an incurable disease using a familiar black goo — the Venom symbiote.
Now, Venom himself is set to be unleashed in New York City in the highly anticipated “Marvel’s Spider-Man 2,” which is released on PlayStation 5 on Friday.
“I want this to be one of the best Venom stories you’ve ever experienced. We’ll see what the reviewers have to say,” the game’s senior narrative director Jon Paquette told Insider in a recent interview.
Horror fans might recognize the gravelly voice behind Venom because “Candyman” star Tony Todd provided Venom’s monstrous tones.
Paquette told Insider that “Spider-Man 2” creative director Bryan Intihar was the one who came up with the idea to cast Todd.
“He probably saw a new ‘Candyman’ trailer or something. He heard the voice and was like, ‘Hey, what about Tony Todd?’ He texted everybody and was like, ‘What do you guys think?’ And we’re like, ‘Oh, my God. That would be amazing,'” said Paquette.
“So, we brought Tony in and he submitted a few lines for kind of an audition. And it was like, ‘Oh, my gosh, this is the exact vibe that we’re going for,'” recalled the narrative director. “He fits it perfectly. Once Brian had the idea we were all like, ‘How do we make this happen?'”
When asked about the possibility of a Venom spinoff game in the same vein as 2020’s “Spider-Man: Miles Morales,” Paquette said they’re waiting to see the reaction from fans.
“So, here’s what we’re doing. We’re focused on ‘Spider-Man 2,’ and what we’re gonna do is we’re gonna wait to see how the fans react,” he said. “We’re gonna listen to the fans and we’re gonna ask ourselves, ‘Okay, what do the fans really want?'”
“We’ll kind of talk about stuff after we’ve all had time to sleep and take vacations,” he added.
Paquette said the team behind “Spider-Man 2” drew inspiration from Venom’s storied comic book history — which could also serve as inspiration for a Venom-centric story.
“Man, I remember as a kid being in my friend’s bedroom reading ‘Secret Wars’ and seeing the origin of the black suit,” Paquette said. “We went from there all the way to the crazy Knull, Klyntar kind of stuff.”
“There’s such a rich universe there, and there’s a lot that the comics have done. We tried to take all that in, and then forget about it, and think about what would be best for our characters and our franchise,” added Paquette.
“Marvel’s Spider-Man 2” is available on October 20, but you can pre-order now at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target.
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