“Marvel's Spider-Man 2” stars go deeper into their own Spider-Verse: 'It's going to be crazy'
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When veteran voice actor Yuri Lowenthal hit the Hall H stage for San Diego Comic-Con in July to preview the highly anticipated video game Marvel's Spider-Man 2, the first thing he did was perform the Tobey Maguire dance.
The sequel to 2018's Marvel's Spider-Man features the introduction of Venom and the alien symbiote. So, naturally, as the guy behind the games' Peter Parker, he had to climb atop the panel's table and roll his arms like Maguire famously did for the Sam Raimi-directed film Spider-Man 3. "I knew it wasn't in the game, but I know people wanted it — and I selfishly also wanted to do it," Lowenthal tells EW over Zoom with his costar Nadji Jeter. "That's probably why I did not ask [game developers] Insomniac or Sony if I could. I just did it and hoped that they would not be too angry at me afterwards."
Jeter, who plays Miles Morales, didn't know either. "I just went with the punches," he comments, sitting in an airport waiting area before boarding his plane. "That was full adrenaline, that was full excitement for the fans."
Getty Bill Rosemann, Yuri Lowenthal, and Nadji Jeter on stage at Marvel's Spider-Man 2: Symbiotic Relationships panel during 2023 Comic-Con International in San Diego
The roaring crowd, expectedly, ate it up — a sign of just how big a star both of these gents have become in the gaming world. Selling more than 33 million copies in under four years, Marvel's Spider-Man became an instant sensation, featuring a lot of the same kind of compelling storytelling, tantalizing comic book Easter eggs, thrilling action sequences, and even a post-credits scene or two that rival even Disney's slate of Marvel movies. The success prompted a standalone spinoff, 2022's Marvel's Spider-Man: Miles Morales, as well as the development of a new Marvel game at Insomniac focused on Wolverine. And now, both Lowenthal and Jeter are diving much deeper into their thriving corner of the Spider-Verse with a formal sequel.
"It's going to be crazy," Jeter says of Marvel's Spider-Man 2, out this weekend. "What you guys are going to play is going to be insane."
Lowenthal's Peter, dressed in his classic super suit from the first game, made a notable cameo appearance in the 2023 movie Across the Spider-Verse, so these games really do feel as though they are part of a larger entertainment multiverse. But like any parallel reality, things play out a little differently here than they do in the films, shows, and comics.
Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Peter Parker and Miles Morales gaze out at New York City in 'Marvel's Spider-Man 2'
After the death of Peter's Aunt May and Miles' dad, NYPD Officer Jefferson Davis, the world of both these heroes has only gotten bigger... literally. Players can now explore both Queens (Pete's home) and Brooklyn (Miles' home) in the sequel, while the first game had been confined to Manhattan. "They both have come to the conclusion of settling in life with both of their losses," Jeter says. "They are very, very close losses to them. We see the change in the two young men."
The dynamic web-slinging duo are now fighting to protect New York as a joint force against the likes of the Sandman, the Lizard (first glimpsed in his human form of Dr. Curt Connors in a Miles Morales post-credits scene), the returning Dr. Martin Li (a.k.a. Mr. Negative), and Kraven the Hunter. However, the adversary that will test their resolve the most is Venom, a classic comic book baddie now voiced by Candyman star Tony Todd.
The alien symbiote that transforms its host into a beast with sharp teeth, a lashing tongue, and growling voice was first teased in Marvel's Spider-Man; Norman Osborn conducted experimental treatment to save his son Harry from a rare, debilitating disease. Both Harry (Peter's best friend from high school) and the symbiote now enter the story's main stage.
Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment The Tony Todd-voiced Venom has arrived in 'Marvel's Spider-Man 2'
Jeter feels the emotional effects of making it through the COVID-19 pandemic prepared him and Lowenthal to tackle such intense material. "With this new game, you have maturity, and you see different sides of people," he explains. "I feel like that pandemic grew to have us all face something in life to bring to the table."
While gamers now have the ability to shift between playing as Peter and Miles, each character comes with a captivating story arc that mirrors the other. Peter fights to preserve Miles' humanity as the younger wall-crawler becomes consumed with vengeance against Martin Li, the man who killed his father; and Miles is fighting to do the same for Peter when his mentor becomes infected and changed by the symbiote.
"We all have a Venom in us," Jeter says. "Everyone has something that tries to deteriorate them from the good. It takes us into that journey of learning the lessons, of following that path, and our true, genuine principles in life that we should stick to."
Lowenthal sees the Venom arc in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 as almost a bastardization of Peter's famous creed: With great power comes great responsibility. "What happens when he has even greater power and no responsibility?" he posits. "The selfishness creeps in, and tracking that arc became very important." The actor, as well as Kris Zimmerman, the performance director guiding the actors through their mo-cap sessions, looked to addiction to guide the portrayal of Peter as he becomes more and more consumed by the symbiote. "It's not like a switch is flipped and now he's powerful and bad," Lowenthal notes. "That could easily have gotten very comical, and they wanted to keep it grounded." (No shade to Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man 3 dancing.)
Insomniac Games/Sony Interactive Entertainment Yuri Lowenthal's Peter Parker becomes consumed by the symbiote in 'Marvel's Spider-Man 2'
Jeter says he leaned on Lowenthal during the recording of this game, asking him questions about process and performance, especially around the more emotional sequences — the same kind that had some players balling their eyes out at the conclusion of Marvel's Spider-Man. In that way, Lowenthal considers them lucky to have a similar relationship inside the games as they do out. "Which does not happen often when you're making something like this," he adds.
They're going to need each other, too. Lowenthal and Jeter have already become linked to Peter Parker and Miles Morales in the eyes of gamers, and the sequel looks to expose them to an even larger audience. "They'll say, 'Do the Spider-Man voice!' And I'm like, 'Man, I'm always doing the Spider-Man voice.' Me and Peter are like this," Lowenthal says, crossing his fingers. "I don't put on anything. You get Peter Parker all the time."
Amid the Miles Morales' personal renaissance in these games but also on screen in the Spider-Verse movies, Jeter is just eager to "keep the momentum going." He says, "I want to definitely fulfill every emotion that people receive from Miles and from these stories in general. I know what he represents and I know what the story represents."
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 will be released on PlayStation 5 this Friday.
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