We’re one week away from the release of Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and to get fans even more excited, Insomniac has given a bit of a behind-the-scenes look at bringing one of the franchise’s most iconic villains to life, the Lizard.

One of the big surprises when Insomniac showcased Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 gameplay back in May was how vastly different the design of the Lizard was compared to his trench coat look from the comics. He was massive and looked far more menacing than the lizard we all knew, though the reception to the new design was overly positive, as he looked to be a worthy foe for the new Spider-Man game. 

As it turns out, this design had much thought and research, as Insomniac detailed it all on the PlayStation Blog. 

“We looked at a lot of lizard skin for research,” Jacinda Chew, senior art director at Insomniac Game says. “The thing about lizards in real life–their skin’s actually really dry. Most people who looked at our Lizard kept initially saying ‘he’s not slimy enough.’ But I think it’s a nod to what people expect a lizard to look like–he’s got that lizard skin, but it’s actually much shinier than what you’d see on a real lizard

We gave him spikes, too. For design references, I tried to look at real-life lizards that looked a bit more prehistoric, because some lizards can look kind of soft and cute. I was looking at spikier, more snake-like, more aggressive references. We also wanted eyes that look more like animal eyes. If you look at cats, their pupils grow at night. We made those kinds of eyes for him–when light hits his eyes, they look smaller, his eyes are actually reacting to light. We did a lot of research on how to make that happen in real time on the PS5.”

Chew says that the team simulated the lizard’s skin and muscles, citing both animal and human movements. The Lizard’s skin shed, for example, has been simulated to see what they might look like with wind, and the process is described as an “impressive visual to behold.”

Looking at Marvel’s Spider-Man 2’s Lizard, you can tell the studio put in a lot of work to not only stay true to the source material from the comics but also manage to deliver their spin on the character. We cannot wait to see him to his fullest once Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 is released on PS5 this October 20.