With the upcoming release of the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3&4 remaster, Tony Hawk himself has said that he will “campaign all he can” for a remake of the fan-favorite Tony Hawk’s Underground series.
Tony Hawk’s Underground was the fifth game in the skating franchise, this time moving the series in a different direction that focused more on a story-driven campaign with cutscenes and the like. Many fans laud the Underground series as their personal favorite entries as they moved away from the overtly arcade-style, now leaning more into skateboarding culture and the characters surrounding the scene at the time.
For more than 20 years, fans have been begging for a remaster or remake of the Underground games. This outcry has only become louder and more prominent following the announcement of the upcoming THPS 3&4 Remasters releasing this July. While speaking at an event to preview the upcoming remasters, Tony Hawk was asked about the possibility of any remasters or remakes for games outside of the THPS quadrilogy.
Hawk had this to say;
“I always have aspirations,” “It’s not up to me generally. I’ll campaign all I can, but I’m working with a much bigger company that’s a lot smarter than me.”
Hawk continued by stating that an Underground remaster or remake hasn’t been discussed internally, but that the success of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3&4 remastered could be a major deciding factor when discussing the possibilities of reviving other games in the series.
Tony Hawk’s Underground 2, which originally came out in 2004, seems as though it would likely be the more difficult of the series to remake or remaster due to the utilization of celebrity cameos and licensed characters that was in-part responsible for its popularity. The game was centered around Tony Hawk’s team competing with Bam Margera’s team while touring the globe, executing sweet skate tricks and pulling stunts akin to those seen in the Jackass series.
Due to struggles on his journey to sobriety, and his removal from the most recent Jackass movie due to breaking contractual stipulations regarding his sobriety, there was a major concern that series favorite Bam Margera would be removed from the Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3&4 remaster, which would also make it unlikely that the Underground series could be remade or remastered without him, due to his heavy involvement in the story and game’s overall popularity.
The biggest obstacle however seems to have been recently cleared, and to the joy of so many long-time fans, as Tony Hawk fought to get Bam Margera into the remaster of THPS 3&4, demanding his inclusion. Margera has recently finished his motion capture/body scanning for the game, and with his much-wanted inclusion, this leaves the possibilities for a remake or remaster of THU 1&2 much more feasible.
From someone who grew up playing the games and loving everything surrounding skate culture at the time, from the music to the personalities and styles, I am very hopeful that there will be more on this to come!
