Highlights

  • Spider-Gwen's popularity continues to rise, leaving fans eager for a potential solo adventure in the Insomniac Spider-Man universe.
  • The canceled multiplayer spin-off, "Spider-Man: The Great Web," showcased Gwen Stacy's Ghost-Spider alongside other Spider-People.
  • Though this spin-off is dead, Insomniac Games could still capitalize on Spider-Gwen's appeal by incorporating her into their Spider-Man universe or crafting a unique solo game.

With three acclaimed games now under its belt, Insomniac's Spider-Man universe is well under way, and the door is still wide open for future sequels and spin-offs. During the course of Marvel's Spider-Man 2's main story, side content, and post-credits scenes, fans are given plenty of teases about where the franchise could go next, and according to the unfortunate horde of leaked documents from the end of last year, a good few plans are already in place.

At the end of 2023, Insomniac Games suffered a major ransomware attack that resulted in some highly confidential internal documents being released online. Among these were tentative plans for future Insomniac Marvel games, along with the reveal of a multiplayer Spider-Man spinoff game that was seemingly canceled during its development. About a week ago, a trailer for this Spider-Man multiplayer game was leaked, and though it definitely looked a little rough around the edges, it showed some interesting concepts, one of which - the character of Spider-Gwen - shouldn't just go to waste now.

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Spider-Man: The Great Web's Cancelation Shouldn't Spell Doom for Spider-Gwen

Spider-Man: The Great Web's Trailers Put Spider-Gwen In the Main Ensemble

Officially titled Marvel's Spider-Man: The Great Web, this multiplayer spinoff would have had players forge teams of up to five Spider-People, all tasked with the shared goal of taking down the Sinister Six across the multiverse. Along with Peter Parker, Miles Morales, Scarlet Spider, and Spider-Man 2099, Gwen Stacy's Ghost-Spider plays a prominent role in the leaked trailer, wearing a range of different outfits, all of which play on her classic white, black, pink, and blue costume design.

Since making her comic book debut in 2014, Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman/Ghost-Spider has only continued to grow more popular by the year. While her debut solo comic series garnered an immediate fan-base, Spider-Gwen's popularity reached new heights with the release of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse back in 2018, where she has a major role in the movie. The character's popularity was further reinforced with last year's sequel, Across the Spider-Verse, in which Gwen plays an even greater role in the story. So, it's only natural that Insomniac would want to capitalize on Spider-Gwen's ever-growing popularity, but with the apparent cancelation of Spider-Man: The Great Web, the chances of the hero appearing in a video game anytime soon aren't too high - though that shouldn't be the case.

A Spider-Gwen Game Should Still Be On The Cards

Gwen Stacy's Spider-Woman deserves the video game treatment, and if it's not going to be a multiplayer spin-off, then it should be in her very own solo adventure. There are a few different routes Insomniac - or any other developer - could take with Spider-Gwen. The first is to simply bring Gwen Stacy into the main Insomniac Spider-Man universe. Currently, it's unclear whether Gwen Stacy exists in Insomniac's Spider-Man universe, and if she does, it's a complete mystery where she's been or what she's currently doing. That leaves the door wide open for Spider-Gwen to enter the Insomniac universe.

Alternatively, Spider-Gwen could enter the Insomniac universe as a visitor from another dimension, taking a page out of Into the Spider-Verse's playbook while not adapting it directly. This would allow Insomniac to get really creative with both the game's aesthetic and its story, with Gwen potentially being able to travel to other universes, each of which could have a unique art style. This would be a pretty natural evolution of Insomniac's Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart portal-hopping mechanics, which the developer seems keen on revisiting, if Marvel's Spider-Man 2's Black Cat chase sequence is anything to go by.