Bryan Intihar, Creative Director at Insomniac Games, has released a statement in response to criticism of Peter Parker’s recasting in Marvel’s Spider-Man.
Yesterday, Insomniac surprised players by revealing an all-new Peter Parker for Spider-Man Remastered, citing changes warranted by new console technology as one of the reasons for its decision.
“In order to bring the best performances to players with our next-generation Marvel’s Spider-Man games, we have recast the face of Peter Parker,” the studio explained. “We loved working with John Bubniak on the original game; however, to get a better match to Peter Parker/Spider-Man actor Yuri Lowenthal’s facial capture, we have cast Ben Jordan to be the face model for Peter Parker on the PS5 console.”
Backlash ensued, prompting Intihar to take to Twitter to further explain the decision. His statement reads:
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 a while 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 for ways to improve every facet of the game.
Intihar requested fans to trust Insomniac because this change is “best” for the franchise’s future and the developer’s goals for the character.
[Source: Bryan Intihar]
