In 2023, first-party PlayStation developerInsomniac was victim to a historic hack, as 1.67 terabytes of data were stolen in an attempt to blackmail the studio for $2 million in Bitcoin. Sony refused the demands, and true to its word,ransomware group Rhysida leaked the data online.
Soon after, players set up subreddits and forums as they sank into the wreckage and started pulling out whatever they could find, fromearly playable builds of upcoming releasestointernal roadmapsand evenan unannounced Venom spin-offin a similar vein to Miles Morales.
It was slated to release in Q2 2025, which encompasses April, May, and June. We’re now at the tail-end of that period, and there wasn’t a whiff of Wolverine, let alone Venom, during yesterday’s State of Play. It might be time to admit that the spin-off has been put on ice (or rather, under an acid shower).
Venom might’ve been delayed, but with Tony Todd’s tragic passing and Insomniac’s busy line-up, I’m not convinced.
That leaves us with a dangling symbiotic thread: Carnage. At the end of Wraith’s questline in Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, we see Cletus Kasady — a cult leader here, rather than a serial killer — flee the site of a derailed Oscorp train with an oozing red symbiote in hand. This was likely setting up the Venom spin-off, which would’ve no doubt introduced a new host (perhaps Eddie Brock or Flash Thompson). But without that standalone game, what happens to Carnage?
Spider-Man 3 Is Already Spinning Too Many Plates
Odds are, he’ll either be dropped or saved for the sequel…which would just make Spider-Man 3 a mess.
If the Carnage plotline is salvaged, then the sequelcouldfeature as many as four villains: Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Chameleon, and now, Kasady. That’s not to mention thatthe game will also introduce Silk, who we know (thanks to leaks) isgoing to suit up as a playable character, standing in for the now-retired Peter Parker.
Spider-Man 3, a mess? Is this 2007?
Spider-Man 2 struggled to balance two villains, Kraven and Venom, and it often sidelined Miles Morales to focus on Peter Parker and Harry Osborn’s relationship. With three Spider-peopleandfour villains, it’s hard to imagine any of them being done justice in the third entry.
I’d like to think that Insomniac is aware of this and just how hamfisted Carnage would feel. He’s far too big a threat to be relegated to a side quest, but he would also completely overshadow everyone else in themainquest, given that his entire M.O. is unbridled chaos. At least Chameleon is minor enough to make into a gimmicky Taskmaster objective. Cletus would hog far too much of the spotlight.
Doc Ock and Green Goblin already have a history in the games, and their tenuous relationship, built on the rickety foundation of a common goal against Spider-Man, makes them a fascinating pair. Rather than Venom suddenly gobbling up Kraven and bringing the narrative to a standstill, Octavius and Osborn’s dynamic feels earned and lends itself to a far more impactful story.
We’ll be rooting for them to turn against each other, while paradoxically hoping for a return to the Octavius we spent so many hours trying to save the world with, and the father who would do anything for his son. Parker is at the core of their anger, and the focus appears to be on Miles and Silk, so I’m still wary about the game juggling too much at once, but I have faith. Introduce Carnage, though, and it’ll collapse in on itself.
I hope we don’t see Kasady again. Carnage is simply too big a threat to fit into the more personal narrative Spider-Man 3 is set to tell, and it’d be a shame to undercut that potential with yet another ham-fisted symbiote third act. It would’ve been great to see Venom come into his own and for Carnage to be given his dues in their own video game, but without the spin-off, there’s no room left.
