Marvel’s Wolverine’s Main Villain Choice May Be Perfectly Timed

The recent Insomniac leaks have given fans their first unofficial look at Marvel’s Wolverine, which revealed new details about the upcoming title and showed clips of in-game footage. Although it’s clear the leaked gameplay of Marvel’s Wolverine is from the early stages of its development, some information included in this leak paints a more complete picture of what players can expect from Insomniac’s upcoming title. Along with the leaked concept art and story beats for the game, the voice cast for Marvel’s Wolverine also hit the internet and showed that the game’s main villain might be the perfect choice for the role.

These leaks come as the result of a cyberattack committed by the Rhysida group against developer Insomniac Games, in which the attackers claim to have obtained sensitive data from the company, including employee information as well as details on in-development titles and future project roadmaps. Insomniac responded to these leaks by addressing their disappointment at having this information revealed early and at the stress the leaks placed on their employees. However, with the developer stating that the development of Wolverine is continuing as planned, it appears that the game’s central plot and villain have been solidified.

Although the leaked voice cast shows that there are several villains slated to appear in Marvel’s Wolverine, one stands out as most likely to be the primary antagonist of the game. The leaked cast list for Wolverine includes voice actors for villains like Mystique, Omega Red, Deathstrike, and Sabretooth, but it’s Mister Sinister who seems to be the overarching villain of the game given his status as a recurring threat to the X-Men in the comics. With Wolverine likely to be the start of Insomniac’s X-Men game series, setting up Mister Sinister as a villain early on makes a lot of sense.

Nathaniel Essex, AKA Mister Sinister, was a 19th-century British scientist who became obsessed with the works of his peer Charles Darwin and desired to evolve humanity beyond its current form into a race of perfect superhumans. This desire caught the attention of Apocalypse, and he turned Essex into the mutant known as Mister Sinister, who went on to experiment with mutant genetics and cloning, leading to his encounters with various mutants across the world. One such mutant was Wolverine, living in Canada at the time, who he captured and tortured for his twisted experiments.

Having Mister Sinister as Wolverine’s Primary Villain May Help Tie the Game to the MCU

With the leaked information about Marvel’s Wolverine pointing to the game taking place in a variety of locations, including Canada, it seems likely that the game will follow this encounter with Mister Sinister, and Logan’s subsequent quest for revenge if the leaks are to be believed. If this is the case, the release of Wolverine could be the perfect way to tie Insomniac’s X-Men series to the introduction of mutants into the MCU. According to the leaked roadmap of Insomniac projects, Wolverine is slated for a 2026 release, which would align with the planned release of the next Avengers movie, rumored to introduce mutants to the MCU.

Mister Sinister is rumored to be a key antagonist in the MCU’s X-Men saga, so timing his presence in Marvel’s Wolverine with the introduction of mutants in the MCU would be a smart move for Marvel. It seems likely that Mister Sinister will also play a crucial role in Insomnaic’s X-Men games beyond Marvel’s Wolverine given that he is supposedly being voiced by the iconic Troy Baker, known for such roles as Joel from The Last of Us and Death Stranding‘s Higgs. With such a famous voice actor slated to play this antagonist, Insomniac likely has big plans for Mister Sinister that could bring the villain into the spotlight ahead of the MCU’s X-Men debut.