In 2020, gamers everywhere collectively did a double-take. Insomniac Games dropped a trailer for Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered on the PS5, and Peter Parker looked... different. Not just a new haircut or better lighting. It was a completely different person. That person was Ben Jordan, a model who suddenly became the most talked-about face in the industry.
Honestly, it was jarring. You’ve spent dozens of hours with the original Peter—modeled after John Bubniak—and suddenly he’s replaced by someone who looks a good five years younger. It felt like a glitch in the Matrix.
But why did it happen? And years later, as we’ve moved through the Miles Morales expansion and into Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, has the dust finally settled? Let's get into the weeds of what actually happened with Ben Jordan and why some fans are still holding onto the "Old Pete" nostalgia.
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The Technical Reality of the Ben Jordan Swap
The official line from Insomniac was simple: bone structure.
Basically, the developers realized that for the PS5’s increased facial fidelity, they needed a face that better matched the voice actor, Yuri Lowenthal. Yuri provides the performance capture (the "mocap") for Peter Parker. His facial movements, his jawline, the way his muscles shift when he yells—all of that is tracked by cameras.
In the original 2018 PS4 game, they used John Bubniak’s likeness. While it worked well enough then, Insomniac claimed that Bubniak’s bone structure didn’t quite "sync" with Yuri’s performance data. This meant animators had to do a ton of manual "hand-tuning" to make the expressions look right. By switching to Ben Jordan, whose facial structure is a closer match to Yuri Lowenthal, the mocap data translated more naturally to the digital model.
It was a workflow decision. If you want better, more realistic eyes and mouth movements, you pick a model that fits the source data. Simple as that.
Why the Backlash Was So Intense
If the reasons were so logical, why did the internet explode?
- The "Tom Holland" Factor: The most common complaint was that Ben Jordan looks a lot like Tom Holland. Fans accused Sony of trying to force "brand synergy" with the MCU. Even though Insomniac denied this, the resemblance was hard to ignore.
- The Age Gap: Bubniak’s Peter looked like a guy who had been Spider-Man for eight years. He looked tired. He had lines under his eyes. Ben Jordan’s model is technically 23—the character's actual age in the game—but he looks like he’s 16 and just finished a skin-care routine.
- Emotional Attachment: We’re humans. We get attached to faces. Replacing Peter’s face felt like someone went back into your childhood photo album and Photoshopped a stranger over your brother.
Ben Jordan in the Sequel: A Growing Comfort?
By the time Marvel's Spider-Man 2 rolled around in 2023, things felt a bit more stable. Insomniac clearly took the feedback to heart. They tweaked the Ben Jordan model to look a bit more "weathered." They changed his hair to be slightly messier and gave him a bit more of a "lived-in" look.
In the sequel, the performance capture is undeniably better. When Peter is under the influence of the Symbiote, the raw emotion on his face—the anger, the strain, the exhaustion—is incredibly detailed. It’s hard to imagine the old model handling those complex micro-expressions as smoothly.
Still, if you go to any gaming forum today, you’ll find "Bring Back Bubniak" mods for the PC version. Some people just can't let go.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Recast
There’s a persistent myth that John Bubniak was "fired" or that there was some big legal drama. There isn't. Recasting likenesses is actually pretty common in the tech world as engines evolve.
Another misconception is that Ben Jordan did the acting. He didn't. He’s the "likeness model." He went into a booth, they scanned his face from every angle, and then he went home. Yuri Lowenthal is still the soul of the character. He’s the one doing the heavy lifting in the mo-cap suit.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Modders
If you're still struggling with the change or just want to see what all the fuss is about, here’s how to navigate the "two faces" of Peter Parker:
- Check the PC Mods: If you're playing on PC, the modding community has perfected the John Bubniak restoration mods. You can play the entire Remastered game and the sequel with the 2018 face. It’s a great way to compare the technical differences in animation.
- Focus on the Eyes: Next time you play a cutscene with the Ben Jordan model, look at the eye tracking. The way the light hits the iris and the subtle blinking is where the technical superiority of the new scan actually shines.
- Appreciate the Craft: Understand that this wasn't a "corporate" decision to be mean to fans; it was a move to make the animators' lives easier so they could deliver more games, faster.
The transition to Ben Jordan as Spider-Man was a messy moment in gaming history, but it's one that highlights the weird intersection of art, technology, and fan expectation. Whether you love the new look or miss the old one, the games themselves remain some of the best superhero media ever made.
Next time you're swinging through NYC, take a second to look at the character model in Photo Mode. You might just start to see why the developers made the choice they did.
Next Steps for You
- Compare the models side-by-side: Look up high-res "Spider-Man 2018 vs Remastered" comparison videos on YouTube to see the specific animation differences in the Aunt May scene.
- Explore the credits: Check out the other face models used in the game, like Noshir Dalal (Charles Smith in RDR2), who provided the likeness for other key characters, to see how common this practice is.
- Test the Photo Mode: Use the lighting tools in Spider-Man 2 to see how the Ben Jordan model reacts to different light sources compared to the original game's flatter lighting.