The recent announcement about Marvel’s Wolverine video game, which is currently in development by Insomnia Games for the PS5, has given Marvel fans an obvious talking point in the last couple of days. Among the speculations about the upcoming title, which has released very few details so far, there is the question of who will be voicing the X-Men hero in this new iteration of the character most famously played by Hugh Jackman in multiple movies. With Jackman having put the role behind him, and a new Wolverine no doubt arriving in the future of the MCU, who could be the voice of the invincible character? Well, someone who is ready to step into the role is David Hayter, known to many as the voice of Solid Snake in the Metal Gear Solid video game series.
Hayter’s name came up pretty much straight away on social media as the game was announced, and while he is known for playing rough, tough and gruff antiheroes in general, he was also a writer on both of the first two X-Men movies, making him even more tuned into the Wolverine character than most. While it is one thing for fans to speculate on who might be cast in the voiceover role, it is another for that actor to comment on the matter himself, which is exactly what David Hayter did in reply to a Twitter comment.
I admit… I was thinking that. https://t.co/tSe2UnvEx7
— David Hayter (@DavidBHayter) September 10, 2021
The announcement of the game’s development was made in a statement by Ryan Schneider, Head of Franchise Strategy & Studio Relations at Insomniac Games. “Marvel’s Wolverine is a standalone game being directed by Brian Horton (creative director) and Cameron Christian (game director), who recently led the creative efforts on Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, a game we’re extremely proud of at Insomniac. In the vein of our Spider-Man games, our goal here is to not only respect the DNA of what makes the character so popular, but also look for opportunities to make it feel fresh and truly reflect the Insomniac spirit. Even though Marvel’s Wolverine is very early in development, from what I’ve seen of its emotional narrative and cutting-edge gameplay (see what I did there?), the team is already creating something truly special.”
Marvel’s video game output has been massively cranked up recently, with the arrival of The Avengers earlier in the year, which has already seen a number of subsequent extensions added to it. There are also games of Guardians of The Galaxy, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and numerous others in development. With Marvel movies currently killing the box-office, even in the current climate, their arrival on Disney+ pulling in record streaming numbers and creating a tapestry like nothing seen before in the entertainment industry, it is not surprising that every effort is being made to cash in on the success in all ways possible. As far as merchandise goes, video games are one of the biggest tie ins that a franchise can have and it looks like Marvel are going all out to capture the market as quickly as possible.
Marvel’s Wolverine is only in the very early stages of development, so is not about to arrive anytime in the immediate future, but with the X-Men heading into the MCU in the next few years, there is no doubt that the game’s release will be worked to coincide with that huge cinematic event.