The Carnage Conundrum: Why Insomniac's Spider-Man 3 Should Leave Kasady on the Shelf

Alright, let's talk about the giant, red, oozing elephant in the room. Remember that insane Insomniac hack back in 2023? A whopping 1.67 terabytes of data got swiped, and when Sony told the ransomware goons to take a hike, the internet became a digital treasure trove for us players. We dug through the wreckage like archaeologists in a data landfill, unearthing everything from early game builds to secret roadmaps. The biggest find? A planned Venom spin-off, set for a mid-2025 release, following the same blueprint as the fantastic Miles Morales game. Well, here we are in 2026, and that game is deader than my motivation on a Monday morning—totally MIA, no announcement, nothing. It's like planning a beach vacation only to find the entire ocean has been put on ice.

This leaves us with one hell of a dangling thread: Carnage. At the end of Spider-Man 2's Wraith missions, we saw cult leader Cletus Kasady (not a serial killer this time, but close enough) snag a nasty red symbiote from a crashed Oscorp train. That scene was a neon sign pointing straight to the now-cancelled Venom game, which would have introduced a new host to battle Kasady. But with that spin-off six feet under, what happens to Carnage? The answer, I think, is simple: he should stay buried.

Let's be real, Spider-Man 3's plate is already spinning more dishes than a world-champion juggler at a dinner party. Based on the leaks and the ending of SM2, the sequel's villain roster is stacked:

Adding Carnage to this mix would be like trying to fit a tsunami into a swimming pool—it just overwhelms everything. Spider-Man 2 already struggled to balance two main villains (Kraven and Venom) and often left Miles feeling like a side character in Peter and Harry's drama. Now, we're looking at a game that will also introduce Silk as a new playable hero (thanks again, leaks!), effectively giving us three Spider-people. Trying to do justice to three heroes AND four major villains? That's a narrative recipe for disaster.

I want to believe Insomniac knows this. Carnage isn't a side-quest kind of guy. His whole brand is pure, unadulterated chaos. He'd either be wasted in a minor role or, more likely, completely overshadow the deeply personal stories they've been building. Think about it: Doc Ock and Green Goblin have years of history with Peter Parker. Their dynamic—a fragile alliance built on shared hatred—is rich with potential. We'd be watching a tense partnership, secretly hoping it explodes while also feeling for the men they used to be. That's compelling stuff! Throwing Carnage into that delicate web would snap all the threads. He'd hog the spotlight like a toddler with a megaphone at a library, reducing nuanced conflict to simple, symbiote-smashing noise.

It's a genuine shame. In a perfect world, that Venom spin-off would have given Carnage the dedicated, terrifying playground he deserves. He could have been the main event, not a crowded sideshow. But without that game, trying to cram him into Spider-Man 3 feels like a forced, ham-fisted move. The third act of SM2 already suffered from Venom suddenly absorbing the plot; repeating that mistake with an even more chaotic villain would undermine everything. This sequel's core seems to be a personal war between Peter's old mentors (Ock and Osborn) and the legacy he leaves with Miles and Silk. Introducing a force of nature like Carnage would completely derail that emotional train.

So, here's my take, folks. As much as I love the crimson lunatic, I hope we don't see Cletus Kasady suit up in Spider-Man 3. Some threads are better left dangling, or better yet, saved for a future where they can be the whole tapestry. Let Insomniac cook with the ingredients they've already laid out. The potential for a heartbreaking, character-driven story with Ock, Goblin, and our new Spider-heroes is too great to risk on another symbiote spectacle. Sometimes, the scariest monster is the one you leave lurking in the shadows.