The success of 2007's Spider-Man 3 spurred Sony to consider giving one of the series' more popular villains his own break-out film: Venom. Unfortunately, those discussions hit a rough patch when 2012's Spiderman, starring Andrew Garfield, failed to dazzle audiences at the box office.
After the rebooted Amazing Spiderman trilogy failed to follow in previous trilogy director Sam Raimi's financial footsteps, Venom once again reared his head as a potential saviour for public interest in the franchise. Finally, audiences everywhere are getting the villain story they deserve as the black-and-white anti-hero hits the screen in 2018.
Director Ruben Fleischer of Zombieland fame has reportedly been tapped for pulling it all together, and potentially to continue the project as the first of several Sony films exploring Spiderman universe characters without centering on the web-slinger himself.
Tom Hardy, no stranger to portraying villains after his turn as Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, is thrilled to be picked as the man behind the mask. Nominated for an Oscar for his role in The Revenant, his acting skills are stellar and fans agree he's an exciting choice to bring Venom to cinematic life.
Curiously, Venom is said to have no links with the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even with Spider-Man: Homecoming releasing in July 2017. Sony has been keeping mum about Spider-Man appearing in the Venom movie at all, so don't be surprised if the newest "Spidey" actor Tom Holland is entirely absent from the Venom credits.
Sony Pictures announces Tom Hardy's role as Venom on its Twitter
This dark, complex nature of Venom should be a breeze for Hardy in the eventual movie, he is a natural pro at acting depth from his turn as Mad Max Rockatansky in 2015's Mad Max: Fury Road. With this much buzz, it's a given that comic fans will be marking the days until October 5th, 2018: the Venom movie's scheduled debut.
