Peter Parker has been recast in ‘Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered’

Developer Insomniac Games says the forthcoming Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered for the PS5 will be different from the 2018 original in multiple ways. While we could have predicted changes like a higher frame rate and the addition of new spider suits, one change seems out of left field: Peter Parker’s face.

Peter Parker has been recast, and his face has been redesigned to reflect the new actor. Insomniac explained in a blog post that, “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. 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.”

The company didn’t give further explanation regarding why the role was recast. Bryan Intihar, a director on Marvel’s Spider-Man weighed in on the update in a tweet. “... As we discussed the franchise’s future and moving to the PS5, it quickly became apparent that even more believable-looking characters made finding a better facial match for Yuri Lowenthal -- who we all love as Peter -- a necessity,” Intihar said. He added that he understood fans’ surprise, and said the decision wasn’t made lightly.

Aside from Peter Parker’s new look, we can also expect updated graphics to include ray-traced reflections, ambient shadows and higher-fidelity details on characters. Spider-Man has three new spider suits to traverse New York City in. Further, the game includes a new photo mode initially developed for the upcoming spinoff Marvel’s Spider Man: Miles Morales.

Other updates take advantage of the PS5’s capabilities, like near-instant loading, Spatial 3D audio on compatible headsets, and the DualSense controllers’ vibrations and adaptive triggers. Furthermore, the updated game -- and Peter Parker’s new face -- will be rendered at 60 frames per second.

Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered will be available November 12th when you purchase the Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales Ultimate Edition physically or digitally for $69.99. It’s not clear yet whether you’ll be able to by the remaster on its own yet.