Venom Release Date
Production for the upcoming Venom movie started in the fall of 2017, and Sony has officially announced a release date of October 5th, 2018. The movie is directed by Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer.
Venom Story
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting decades for a true-to-form Venom movie. They tried all the way back in 2007’s Spiderman 3, with Tobey Maguire playing the title role and Topher Grace (of That 70s Show fame) playing the parasitic Venom/Eddie Brock.
All of Tobey’s Spidey movies had their ups and downs. Topher’s portrayal of Peter Parker’s real-world nemesis, fellow Spidey photographer Eddie Brock, was actually pretty well managed. I believed him. His portrayal of Spiderman’s super nemesis, Venom, though… that left fans a little underwhelmed.
According to the Director, Ruben Fleischer, who opened up just a little to fans at Brazil’s Comic-Con last year, the upcoming movie is based on two Venom comic books. There is Venom: Lethal Protector (1993), which showcases Venom - who is a being made of both Eddie Brock and the symbiote, working together - as more of an anti-hero than a true villain (something Topher’s Venom didn’t even begin to touch upon). He has to team up with the Friendly Neighborhood superhero. This comic takes place in San Francisco, with truly bad venom-babies taking over some nasty people.
Planet of the Symbiotes (1995), on the other hand, sees Earth invaded by venom’s kin, an army of symbiotes. So, what we can take from this knowledge is that most likely there will be a slew of venom-like bad guys that our Venom will have to destroy while overcoming the darker side of his own personality.
Venom Cast
Tom Hardy, who got his big break in 2010s Inception, is set to star as Eddie Brock and Venom in the upcoming movie. Tom has shown great flexibility as an actor, with his ability to play dark and twisted characters such as Bane from the Dark Knight Rises, to more human and vulnerable characters like Eames in Inception.
Joining Tom will be Michelle Williams, known for playing the lovely Marilyn Monroe in My Week with Marilyn, presumably as his wife or girlfriend Anne Weying. Peter Parker, played by Tom Holland from Spiderman: Homecoming is also likely to appear, however at this time his appearance is only rumored. Woody Harrelson, of Natural Born Killer’s fame, is also going to appear, but as who, we do not yet know.
Venom Trailer
Venom has released a teaser trailer, indeed teasing us all.
An official trailer was released on the 23rd of April.
Venom News
Most of the Marvel characters are owned either by Disney, who have the rights to the vast Marvel Cinematic Universe, or 20th Century Fox, who own the X-men, Fantastic Four, and a few others. Spiderman and his rivals – including Venom - are owned instead by Sony. With the lackluster performance of the director Sam Raimi’s trio of Spiderman movies (The Tobey Macguire ones, that somehow got 3 adaptations), and slightly better received Amazing Spider-Man set of movies (with Andrew Garfield, these were a little more true to the character), Sony has had to work together with Disney to create the Spiderman we see today.
This means teaming up with the Disney-owned MCU, letting Spiderman (now played by Tom Holland) be a major player from Captain America: Civil War. Similarly, if the signature Marvel sequence at the beginning of the trailer is to be believed, Venom will fall into the Marvel Cinematic Universe too.
All over the internet, fans are concerned about the trailer's lack of Venom. Specifically, they are worried that the Venom suit will barely see screen time, and the movie will be almost all about Eddie Brock. Tom Hardy himself took to his Instagram account to dispel any such rumors, going so far as to call them “asinine,” and mocking their lack of credibility.
Fans are also disappointed that Carnage – one of the baddest bad guys in the Spiderman and Venom universe – will not be the main villain in the movie. Instead, taken from the Lethal Protector comics, it looks like the “Life Foundation,” led by Carlton Drake (confirmed to be played by Riz Ahmed in the movie) will take on the villain role. Basically, they are a bunch of extreme survivalists, convinced the end of the world is coming. They let wealthy clients live in their nuclear bomb shelters. After learning about the symbiote, and the fact that it can spawn new symbiotes, they change their survival plans a bit as Drake leads them to horrendous deeds.
Carnage, however, is likely only going to be seen for a few minutes, if at all. His human alter-ego, Cletus Kasady, is a huge part in shaping the terrible things that happen to Eddie Brock, such as killing his wife in the comics. Woody Harrelson is rumored to play the evil man. However, it seems like they’re saving his true horror for a sequel.
