Insomniac made the controversial decision to switch the actor used for Peter Parker's likeness in its Spider-Man games a few years ago. Not just for the sequel, but for the PS5 remaster of the original game. That issue has naturally reared its head again as Spider-Man 2's launch grows near, and some Spidey fans are claiming it's not Peter's new face that's the problem, it's his hair.
Even though Spider-Man was exclusively seen wearing his slimy new symbiote suit in last week's gameplay reveal, switching John Bubniak's character model for Ben Jordan has been discussed at length again over the last few days. There's a big difference between the models, but after a few of you had the idea of giving Jordan's Peter longer hair, there's a belief the problem has been fixed.
Okay, maybe not fixed, but a few of you are excited about how Jordan's Peter looks with long hair. VaderComics posted a side-by-side of Spider-Man with his mask off, one showing his regular hair, and the other with longer locks. I don't know what it is exactly, but I have to admit, the image on the right does make me feel better for some reason.
VaderComics isn't the only person to throw out this solution. CherryBomb_Live and kittischmitti have also shared mock-ups of the newer Spidey with longer hair and again, it just works. That will partly be due to Bubniak's web-slinger having slightly longer hair, although it was nowhere near as long as the hair added to Peter in any of the three fan examples.
Not only does Insomniac rarely put a foot wrong in the eyes of PlayStation owners, but its first Spider-Man game was a huge success. The decision to recast the actor in the lead role for its remaster was an incredibly bold move. It defended the decision by claiming Jordan's look better matches the voice of Yuri Lowenthal. Lowenthal is the voice of Peter in the Spider-Man games but is a little too old to believably represent the hero visually.
Insomniac further defended the decision by claiming it needed a better face/voice match for Peter, and all of its games' characters, to make full use of the PS5, hence the change being made in time for the remaster. On the bright side for you long-hair lovers, since Peter didn't remove his mask in the new gameplay trailer, there's every chance when he does take it off, long flowing hair falls out of it. Presumably dealing with s symbiote relationship while protecting New York City, it's entirely feasible he wouldn't have had time to visit the barber.