Marvel’s Wolverine, Spider-Man developer Insomniac’s upcoming action game, launches in less than two months, but we still know very little about its world and story. Sony’s recent summer showcase gave us our first real look at its gameplay and featured a slice of the narrative, but we’re still eager for more information about the violent journey Logan will be taking on. Luckily, Entertainment Weekly published an interview today with several of the game’s developers, and it sheds some light on the state of mutants and the X-Men in the video game world.
More specifically, it reveals that the X-Men don’t exist yet.
“Marvel’s Wolverine, which will release on PlayStation 5 consoles this Sep. 15, is set in a world where the X-Men don’t yet exist,” the article reads. “While humanity knows about superheroes like Spider-Man (hence, the events of the previous games), mutants are still largely living in the shadows.
“Those that do know of them, either fear them or see them as subjects for extermination. Wolverine works for Team X, a black-ops group (inspired by the team from the comics) fighting for mutant survival.”
Based on what we’ve seen in the trailers, this makes sense – Wolverine is generally acting alone, and while he’s familiar with other mutants, we’ve yet to see anyone with a matching yellow suit. Even Jean Grey, who appears in the Summer State of Play footage, wears blue and black, and her relationship with Logan is pretty vague. Still, it’s a bit disappointing for folks who have wanted to see a narrative-driven game featuring the X-Men team, but hopefully this paves the road for Xavier’s Academy in the future.
As for Team X, the team Wolverine is a part of in the game, it’s not clear exactly who’s on the roster. Sabretooth, Omega Red, Lady Deathstrike, and Mystique have all been members in various adaptations of the group, and they’re all confirmed to be in the game, but Wolverine also seems to be battling each of them at some point or another, so either he has a falling out with his teammates (very likely), or they’re enemies of Team X (also likely).
Aside from that detail, the interview largely focuses on Insomniac’s take on Wolverine as a character, as well as actor Liam McIntyre’s performance. McIntyre tells EW that he watched footage of rabid dogs to get in touch with Wolverine’s feral side, a level of commitment his collaborators called “terrifying.”
“I guess that’s good, right? Being terrifying,” McIntyre told EW. “But, suddenly, I was like, ‘I’m really scared to go all out with this,’ but they’re such a good team that you feel safe. They will help me if it’s not gonna work. They will tell me. They won’t just let it happen. So I got to take some really huge swings with my character as a result of being able to trust them so much.” Later in the piece, animation director Brian Wyser says that trust makes the final product “look good.”
Marvel’s Wolverine launches on September 15 as a PS5 exclusive. For more detailed breakdown, check out our preview of the game, analyzing its extended gameplay trailer. For more Marvel games, read how to sign up for the open beta for Marvel Tōkon: Fighting Souls.
