Since Sony’s Venom began production back in October, a steady stream of pics from the set have leaked out. The latest bunch arrived online today and though not terribly revealing, they showcase Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock shooting what looks to be a pretty brutal fight.

There’s actually quite a bit here, as we’ve got a huge gallery of photos along with two videos, all taken from the same scene. The exact context of what’s going on isn’t known, but what we can confirm is that Hardy is squaring off against one of the film’s villains, played by Scott Haze. Some fans are speculating that Haze may actually be portraying Carnage, but we imagine the studio would be aiming for an A-lister when it comes to that role. Then again, you never know.

Regardless, here are those photos:

Tom Hardy Gets Bloody And Bruised In Brutal Venom Fight Scene

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If you’re disappointed that Hardy isn’t in the classic black suit in these shots, then you should know that the big reveal of what the movie’s version of the symbiote supervillain looks like won’t occur for a while yet. After all, it’s been confirmed that Venom will be an entirely CGI creation, so don’t expect to see the creature until, say, the first teaser trailer drops sometime next year.

However, we can still gather something about the approach to the film from these photos. As we mentioned above, this is definitely an action-based scene. From Hardy’s casual wear though, rather than the motion capture suit used for CGI characters, it’s clear that this sequence only features Eddie Brock and not his alter-ego. This suggests that a lot of the movie will be driven by Brock’s character, perhaps with Venom only being used sparingly.

Chalk that up as speculation for now, but here are those aforementioned videos:

Some #venom stuffhttps://t.co/8mqYvckOby

— Atlanta Filming (@AtlantaFilming) December 16, 2017

And some more #venom. BTW it was 20 degrees and windy.https://t.co/pHUU3tSkz6

— Atlanta Filming (@AtlantaFilming) December 16, 2017

Angled to be ground zero of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, one that exists as an adjunct to the massively popular MCU, Venom is due to get the ball rolling on October 5th, 2018. Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate and Manchester By the Sea actress Michelle Williams also star, with the latter seemingly poised to take point as Anne Weying (She-Venom?). Looking further afield, Sony is said to be plotting a separate spinoff based on cult favorite Morbius, the Living Vampire, as well.

If one thing is to be said about Spider-Man, it’s that not only does he have one of the richest rogues galleries Marvel has to offer, but in all of comics as well. Of course, there are those whom True Believers tend to favor over others, but none of us can deny the cult following that Venom has amassed over the years.

Bonded to an alien symbiote that helps in giving him such a badass look, this character has sometimes found himself portrayed as an anti-hero, a practice not uncommon whenever someone normally thought of as being “a bad guy” is the protagonist in a given narrative. Thus, we expect that to hold true with the feature film.

Of course, devout comic book readers know that Eddie Brock wasn’t the only one to have gone down this path, which makes today’s news doubly interesting, especially when you take into account that Planet of the Symbiotes will influence the film’s script. Naturally, we’re not expecting a straight-up adaptation as that’s rarely the case with superhero movies, but it’s becoming increasingly easier to connect more than a few dots.

Tom Hardy Gets Bloody And Bruised In Brutal Venom Fight Scene

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But before doing so, let’s bring up the fact that actress Michelle Williams confirmed she’s playing Anne Weying in a conversation with Screen Rant before saying this:

“I’ve done one other movie where I was asked to track a tennis ball with my eyes and pretend it was a giant creature thing. Not my favorite thing in the world to do, but it is a skill set and I’m trying to learn it. And uh, she’s, geez, what can I tell you? Not too much right now.”

For those unfamiliar, Anne Weying was Eddie Brock’s ex-wife in the comics and just so happened to be the first She-Venom (not to be confused with Gwenom). Now, just because Williams did some green screen work doesn’t mean she’ll be one of several possible others to bond with a symbiote in the motion picture, but it’s definitely a possibility we have to consider.

Venom opens in theaters on October 5, 2018.

If one thing’s to be said about Spider-Man, it’s that not only does he have one of the richest rogues galleries Marvel has to offer, but in all of comics as well. Of course, there are those whom True Believers tend to favor over others, but none of us can deny the cult following that Venom has amassed over the years.

Bonded to an alien symbiote that helps in giving him such a badass look, this character has sometimes found himself portrayed as an anti-hero, a practice not uncommon whenever someone normally thought of as being “a bad guy” is the protagonist in a given narrative. Thus, we expect that to hold true with the feature film. But the one question on every fan’s mind is what will the titular character look like on the big screen?

Unfortunately, Sony isn’t ready to reveal that just yet, but we do know that he’ll be rendered using CGI and today, we might have gotten our first glimpse at how Venom may appear when he swings into theaters next year. That’s because seen in the gallery below are a few images of a sculpture that were recently shared by artist Mikkel Frandsen.

Though he didn’t say what the sculpture was for, we do know that he’s got an unannounced project coming in 2018 and from the looks of it, it would seem to be Sony’s spinoff that he’s working on. Especially since he mentioned Marvel on the Instagram posts where these pics hail from.

Is This Our First Look At The CGI Design For Tom Hardy's Venom?

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Pretty neat, eh? Story-wise, we know that the Eddie Brock solo movie has a script from Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, who recently dabbled with rip-roaring adventure thanks to their contribution to the Dwayne Johnson-led yarn, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Not only that, but over the past few days, both Hardy and Fleischer have been dropping story clues, after the latter revealed another comic inspiration for Venom‘s narrative arc: Planet of the Symbiotes. First published in ’95, its story will seemingly be fused with that of Lethal Protector, which has also been name-dropped as a catalyst for the big-screen adaptation.

And while those two arcs will have a huge bearing on Venom overall, there have also been murmurings that Fleischer and his team have looked to the likes of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter, two giants of cinema, for inspiration when it comes to the film’s body-horror elements. Stay tuned for more on that front.

Angled to be ground zero of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, one that exists as an adjunct to the massively popular MCU, Venom is due to get the ball rolling on October 5th, 2018. Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate and Manchester By the Sea actress Michelle Williams also star, with the latter seemingly poised to take point as Anne Weying (She-Venom?). Looking further afield, Sony is said to be plotting a separate spinoff based on cult favorite Morbius, the Living Vampire, as well.

In what’s shaping up to be a busy week for the Sony-backed spinoff, a smattering of Venom set photos have emerged onto the interwebs, and it seems as though Tom Hardy (Eddie Brock) has had a run-in with the famous alien symbiote.

First spotted by Just Jared, these photos show Hardy wrestling with an unseen foe – remember, Brock’s alter-ego will be created by motion-capture CGI – after on-set photographers confirmed that the British thesp appeared to be battling for control of his body. No prizes for guessing who – or rather what – is responsible for Eddie Brock’s dilemma.

Moreover, it’s impossible to wean any story clues from this batch of photos alone, but the fact that Tom Hardy is dressed down in civvies indicates that his Eddie Brock won’t encounter the symbiote at the outset; rather, director Ruben Fleischer has likely filmed his Venom movie in such a way that the 2018 actioner focuses on Eddie first and the titular symbiote later. And at least based on last night’s findings, the sinister CGI design for Venom will absolutely be worth the wait.

Tom Hardy Wrestles The Symbiote In Latest Set Photos For Venom

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As for the story underpinning Venom’s solo outing, both Hardy and Fleischer have been dropping clues all throughout development, including how their spinoff movie lifts inspiration from Planet of the Symbiotes. First published in ’95, its story will seemingly be fused with that of Lethal Protector, which has also been name-dropped as a catalyst for the big-screen adaptation, one written by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner and Kelly Marcel.

Venom has been shooting across parts of New York and Atlanta since October, which surely means that the Ruben Fleischer-directed standalone pic is close to the finish line. An October 5th, 2018 release date is on the cards, so don’t be too surprised if Sony decides to unleash an official promo – be it a fleeting teaser or Entertainment Weekly cover story – soon after 2017 draws to a close.

Given the opportunity, few actors would turn down the chance to collaborate with Tom Hardy – and fewer still would turn down the chance to collaborate with Tom Hardy on Venom, the Sony-backed anti-hero spinoff that is fast becoming one of the most-anticipated movies of 2018. You know, even if Avengers: Infinity War tends to steal the headlines.

It’s coming together quite nicely under the watchful eye of Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), after recent set photos appeared to show Hardy wrestling the famous alien symbiote. Set to spearhead Venom as the haunted Eddie Brock, Tom Hardy is undoubtedly the beating heart of Sony’s offshoot, and his involvement in the project was enough to convince Michelle Williams to sign along the dotted line.

When asked to identify what drew her to Venom, the four-time Oscar nominee pointed to Hardy:

It’s, um, well for me it’s Tom (Hardy). I just thought, well, that guy knows what he’s doing. I’m just going to go steal some of his moves, figure out what he knows. I just wanted to, you know, you’re only as good as the people you play with and I really wanted to challenge myself with him as a partner.

Making the transition from prestige, Oscar-worthy dramas (see: Manchester By the Sea) to CG-heavy blockbusters proved to be a steep learning curve for Williams, who will assume the role of Anne Weying come 2018.

“I’ve done one other movie where I was asked to track a tennis ball with my eyes and pretend it was a giant creature thing. Not my favorite thing in the world to do, but it is a skill set and I’m trying to learn it,” she said.

Pegged for a release in October of next year, Venom is shaping up to be a hardboiled Spider-Man spinoff, which is something fans have wanted for as long as we can remember. Whether it can deliver the goods is another question entirely, but we’ll find out in little over nine months’ time.

After it’d been rumoured for the last few months, Michelle Williams finally confirmed recently that she’s playing Anne Weying in Sony’s upcoming Venom standalone movie starring Tom Hardy. Of course, this is a name that came with a loaded meaning to fans, as Weying becomes She-Venom in the comics, after she bonds with an offshoot of the savage symbiote.

Naturally, it seemed a sure bet that this would be the direction the film would take, as well. However, the latest comments from Williams on her role in Venom suggest her character is not going to “symbiote up” in the movie. While talking to Collider, Williams was questioned about the recently revealed model work for the monster. She explained that she didn’t know a great deal about that process as her role in the film doesn’t crossover with the “digital realm.”

“That stuff exists in a realm that I’m not involved in. It’s in the digital realm. And I’m still a human, like, after all this time. They haven’t digitized me.”

That sounds a lot like Anne Weying won’t become She-Venom, then. Unless that is, Williams is keeping mum in order to preserve some surprise twist later on in the movie. That being said, it is possible that she’ll play Anne as a regular old human for the most part.

As Anne is also Eddie Brock’s ex-wife in the comics, Williams’ character could help humanize him as he becomes more and more consumed by the symbiote. Or, maybe She-Venom will be teased for a potential sequel in a Marvel-esque post-credits scene?

Either way, fans shouldn’t be too cut up if She-Venom isn’t involved in the production, as there are a whole bunch of other symbiotes likely to show up instead. Multiples sources – including director Ruben Fleischer and Tom Hardy – have cited comic book inspirations for Venom that feature six different symbiotes. Namely, Carnage, Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony. As such, there’s still much to look forward to when Venom swings into theaters on October 5th, 2018.

Of all the Spider-Man characters, Venom is one of the most vicious, exceeded only by symbiote serial killer Carnage. At the height of his 90’s popularity, his catchphrase was “I WANT TO EAT YOUR BRAIN!”, and he was frequently saying things like “I’m going to slurp down your brains like big fistfuls of jello.” He even put his money where his (big and toothy) mouth is in Venom: The Hunger #1, in which he actually chowed down on some poor goon’s cerebral cortex.

Given this, it’s probably not a huge surprise that Sony’s upcoming Tom Hardy-starring movie might receive an R-rating, thus allowing the character to presumably eat all the brains he wants to. The hint came in an interview with producer Matthew Tolmach, who was asked point blank by MTV whether the film would receive a PG-13 or R-rating. Though he wouldn’t confirm which direction they’re heading in, he did say, “We’re gonna do the right one.”

Now, that’s a bit non-committal but, given the huge financial and critical successes of Logan and Deadpool, the commercial prospects of R-rated superhero fare look a little rosier than they did a couple of years ago. Plus, we’ve already seen a neutered big screen Venom in the deeply disappointing Spider-Man 3 and I’m sure Sony would like us to forget all about that.

Tolmach was also pressed on whether Venom could crossover with the MCU, enabling a future encounter with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. His reply to that was a classic stonewall, too, simply saying: “We are making a Venom movie is what I’m going to say. We’re making a Venom movie with Tom Hardy and I think you will be very pleased.”

So again, quite non-committal, which has some fans thinking that there might still be a chance of seeing Hardy and Holland cross paths at some point. Granted, we’ve already heard numerous times now that Venom will exist in a completely separate cinematic universe, but if that’s really the case, you have to wonder why Tolmach wouldn’t just say that, right? There’s also that little tease at the end to consider, where he says, “you will be very pleased.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the producer expanded on the potential he sees in the character, saying:

“Eddie Brock is an incredible character and a gritty, real, authentic, funny but also embittered character and a truth-teller who has made mistakes. You know, Tom… it’s like a master class watching him act every day and he’s such a risk taker and he loved this character.”

Tom Hardy Wrestles The Symbiote In Latest Set Photos For Venom

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Continuing on, he said:

“From the day that we first met with him, my partner Avi Arad and I… we found someone who just believed in this character entirely and yet every day pushes it to a place that us mere mortals would never expect it go. He just has crazy integrity about it and so he challenges everything we’re doing in the most brilliant way.

For him, it’s like, ‘if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it and give it it’s due.’ Because the love that the fans have for that character is profound and he shares it. So, it’s really exciting.”

Tom Hardy’s take on the anti-hero should be one of the highlights of the 2018 superhero year, but my personal hype train will only go into overdrive if and when they confirm that they’re shooting for that R-rating. Come on Sony, give us the brain-devouring Venom we know and love!

Sony’s Venom movie is a fascinatingly unknown property at the moment. Despite having begun shooting with an October 5th, 2018 release date in mind, we know very little about what direction they’ll be taking the character in, though we’ve had hints that the studio might be considering an R-rating to truly capture the anti-hero.

Now though, courtesy of the below set photo, we might just have some idea of who Riz Ahmed is going to be playing in the film – and it’s not who everyone thought it was. We’ve known for a while that the Rogue One and Four Lions star would be appearing in the movie, with fans first assuming that he’d be taking on the role of Venom’s even more murderous sibling, Carnage. That was quickly shot down, however and there was also some talk that he might be playing The Chameleon (with a second appearance to come in 2019’s Silver and Black).

Well, it turns out that those were both wrong, as the latest set pic – seen in the gallery below along with a few from earlier this week – comes to us from Atlanta Filming, who confirm that Ahmed is actually playing Dr. Drake.

Riz Ahmed's Secret Role In Venom Revealed?

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Longtime Venom fans will recognize that name as referring to Dr. Carlton Drake, head of the Life Foundation. In the Lethal Protector comic series, The Life Foundation captures Venom and extracts five symbiote ‘seeds’ from him, who grow up to become Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony. In the source material, they’re foiled when Venom teams up with Spider-Man to take them down, though given the vagaries of who has the rights to Tom Holland’s wall-crawler, it looks unlikely at this point that they’ll go down this particular path.

Even so, the prospect of an all-out symbiote brawl sounds like something to look forward to. Among its many other issues, I never felt that Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 did the body horror grossness of the symbiote justice, so let’s hope that director Ruben Fleischer hits that gooey, toothy, drooly sweet spot when Venom slithers into theaters on October 5th.

The more I hear about Ruben Fleischer’s Venom, the more excited I get. When I was a kid in the 90s, I loved the character – who back then felt like a way cooler and grosser version of Spider-Man. My fandom has cooled off a lot since then (re-reading some of those 90s comics is painful), but I still think the anti-hero has a ton of potential. So, when I heard that Tom Hardy was going to play Eddie Brock/Venom in a film, I was over the moon.

Hardy is absolutely one of the best actors working today, displaying a scary level of commitment to each part he takes. Whether he’s a hero in Dunkirk or a villain in Bronson or The Dark Knight Rises, it’s difficult to take your eyes off him when he’s on screen. I can all but guarantee he’s going to blow us away in the first Venom trailer, but as that’s presumably some months away yet, I’ll settle for the excitement of producer Matthew Tolmach, who recently told MTV the following about his performance:

Eddie Brock is an incredible character and a gritty, real, authentic, funny but also embittered character and a truth-teller who has made mistakes. You know, Tom… it’s like a master class watching him act every day and he’s such a risk taker and he loved this character. From the day that we first met with him, my partner Avi Arad and I… we found someone who just believed in this character entirely and yet every day pushes it to a place that us mere mortals would never expect it go.

Tom Hardy Wrestles The Symbiote In Latest Set Photos For Venom

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Continuing on, he said:

He just has crazy integrity about it and so he challenges everything we’re doing in the most brilliant way. For him, it’s like, ‘if I’m going to do this, I’m going to do it and give it it’s due.’ Because the love that the fans have for that character is profound and he shares it. So, it’s really exciting.

Sure, you could say that of course the film’s producer is going to be talking up how great the pic is, but I’m pretty confident that Venom is actually going to be great. For one thing, I’m increasingly hopeful that it won’t be connected to the MCU or to any ‘Venomverse.’ After all, it seems like every superhero film is crowbarred into a shared universe these days, which inevitably means a dilution of tone and lack of really crazy weirdness.

Not only that, but a standalone Venom would truly give Hardy and Fleischer the room to really go to town here, hopefully targeting the R-rating that fans are craving and the character deserves. Whether they’ll be able to do that or not remains to be seen, as we already know that Sony is building some sort of mini-Marvel universe with the characters they hold the rights to.

Still, we’re hopeful that the studio will be smart enough to give the filmmakers the freedom they need to build a compelling take on the iconic anti-hero. After all, given how poorly Venom was handled in Spider-Man 3, Sony can’t afford to mess up again.

If one thing is to be said about Spider-Man, it’s that not only does he have one of the richest rogues galleries Marvel has to offer, but in all of comics as well. Of course, there are those whom True Believers tend to favor over others, but none of us can deny the cult following that Venom has amassed over the years.

Bonded to an alien symbiote that helps in giving him such a badass look, this character has sometimes found himself portrayed as an anti-hero, a practice not uncommon whenever someone normally thought of as being “a bad guy” is the protagonist in a given narrative. Thus, we expect that to hold true with the feature film.

To date, Eddie Brock has appeared in only one previous movie, that being the 2007 mess that was Spider-Man 3. And even though he was shoehorned by the studio into Sam Raimi’s final contribution to the franchise and not portrayed to the liking of many of us, you have to admit that he looked pretty fierce while in his villainous guise. Then again, aesthetics don’t solely make up a good movie.

Still, it’s best that one not mess with the classics, and it’s because of that old adage that we expect Tom Hardy’s look not stray far from comic book canon. In fact, what appeared to be a leaked CGI design pointed toward just that. Actually, some even speculated that it could be Carnage, but the bulkiness looked true Venom to us.

Now, Bryan Zap, one of the most prolific fan artists working today, has given us a fair idea of what the final product may very well look like. Using the CGI model that we just spoke of as a base, he’s fully fleshed out the icon, making him appear unbelievably hardcore. Really, compare it to the rest of what’s to be seen in the gallery below and you may just agree that it’s the best mock-up to date.

Venom slithers into theaters on October 5th, 2018.

Fierce Fan Art Shows Us How Venom May Look On Film

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For a film that hasn’t yet shown its wares – unless you count that official CCXP poster – Venom has been placed under a pretty intense spotlight.

Currently lensing across parts of Atlanta, New York and, according to Omega Underground‘s latest findings, San Francisco, the Ruben Fleischer-directed spinoff has been a constant point of fixation among comic book fans, who continue to uncover one set video after another depicting Tom Hardy in the title role.

The Dark Knight Rises star sent the Internet into a collective tailspin when he agreed to play Eddie Brock, and ever since, budding viewers have been keeping one ear to the ground in the search for potential story clues. That relentless probe for information has resulted in nine kinds of Venom-related conspiracies, but today brings forth a tangible piece of intel worth getting excited about: a leaked set video that appears to show Hardy wrestling with the alien symbiote.

First spotted by Reddit, the footage essentially shows Tom Hardy going berserk – arms gesticulating, head spinning, this is an early peek at the actor’s performance, which is said to be one for the ages.

Story-wise, we know Venom is poised to adapt two comic arcs: Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector. The former fan-favorite first released in ’95, and follows Eddie Brock as he forms an uneasy alliance with Spider-Man in order to clear his name. David Cronenberg (The Fly) and John Carpenter (The Thing), two giants of world cinema, have also been name-dropped in the past, which tells us that Ruben Fleischer will be combing through the film archives so as to mine inspiration for Venom‘s body-horror elements.

And we’ll be able to see the end result on October 5th, 2018 – you know, providing it isn’t leaked online ahead of time.

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Over the past few months, we’ve seen a lot of Venom. Be it via set pics or videos, much from the production has leaked out. To date, though, we still haven’t received anything official and with fans thirsty for a first look at how Tom Hardy will appear in the film, the wait has been tough. Thankfully, then, it’s almost over, as IGN is here to save the day, telling us that they’ll be bringing us a very special Venom-related goodie this coming week.

If you’ve been keeping up with the outlet’s coverage lately, you’ll know that they’ve been rolling out new looks at some of 2018’s hottest releases for a few days now and shortly, they’ll have something for Sony’s upcoming spinoff. Unfortunately, they don’t specify what it’ll be, but given that it’s probably way too early for a trailer – even if it’s just a teaser – we imagine we’ll get the first official photo of Hardy in character.

Keeping things vague, IGN also didn’t say which day this week their coverage would go live, but still, knowing that we’ll finally see the lid peeled back on Venom is very exciting and it signals that the studio is ready to start showing off the hugely anticipated pic. And with an October 5th release date already set, you can bet that the coming weeks and months will bring with them a lot more.

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Story-wise, we know Venom is poised to adapt two comic arcs: Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector. The former fan-favorite first released in ’95, and follows Eddie Brock as he forms an uneasy alliance with Spider-Man in order to clear his name. David Cronenberg (The Fly) and John Carpenter (The Thing), two giants of world cinema, have also been name-dropped in the past, which tells us that director Ruben Fleischer will be combing through the film archives so as to mine inspiration for Venom‘s body-horror elements.

Angled to be ground zero of Sony’s Spider-Man universe, one that exists as an adjunct to the massively popular MCU, Venom is due to get the ball rolling this fall. Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate and Manchester By the Sea actress Michelle Williams also star and looking further afield, Sony is said to be plotting a separate spinoff based on cult favorite Morbius, the Living Vampire.

Ever since Ruben Fleischer’s Venom took the defining step into production, the Internet has been awash with candid set photos and leaked videos featuring Tom Hardy in character as the haunted Eddie Brock.

But thanks to IGN, this week will see the release of Venom‘s first official promo – be it a fleeting teaser or, in the more likely scenario, a high-res shot of Hardy in action. Still no update on the timing of that reveal; chances are it’ll be with us sometime tomorrow, but we can’t be too sure.

In the meantime, Tom Hardy has offered up the next best thing: a behind-the-scenes image of the actor listening intently to Avi Arad, producer and all-around Spider-Man expert who helped nurture Venom into existence alongside Matt Tolmach. It also retains the black-and-white color palette that has defined Hardy’s digital diary, while CBM managed to uncover another set photo of an actor – presumably Hardy – wearing a Venom-inspired hoody.

Latest BTS Photo For Venom Sees Tom Hardy Hone His Craft

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And though it’s impossible to know for sure, the first image appears to have been taken from within Eddie Brock’s apartment. Indeed, if you’ve been keeping track of Venom‘s production thus far, you’ll recognize that humble abode from previously revealed photos, so we wouldn’t be too surprised if it appears once again by way of IGN’s exclusive premiere.

Speaking of which, it’ll be with us sometime between now and the week’s end, so keep your cursors pointed toward We Got This Covered for further coverage. Elsewhere, we know Sony and Fleischer’s Venom spinoff, the first in a Spidey-less universe at the studio, has earmarked Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector as narrative inspiration, with the final product expected to crawl into theaters on October 5th.

Eddie Brock is reporting for duty.

As promised, IGN has today unleashed the first official image (seen in the gallery below, along with some recent set pics) of Sony and Ruben Fleisher’s Venom, the Spider-Man offshoot that places the focus squarely on Tom Hardy’s infamous anti-hero.

Said to be inspired by Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector (more on that later), there’s also a video pulled from the film’s showcase at the recent Brazil Comic Con Experience, where the Powers That Be treated those in attendance to an exclusive look at Venom‘s production, along with a panel featuring Ruben Fleisher and Hardy – director and lead star, respectively.

IGN Drops First Official Look At Tom Hardy's Venom

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There’s still some work to be done, of course; Venom is expected to lens on location in San Francisco later this month, before Sony’s spinoff relocates to post-production. But when asked about the film’s story, Fleisher reaffirmed his desire to adapt those two aforementioned comics:

We want to be as true as possible to the comic with our film. But our story is primarily based on the Lethal Protector and the Planet of the Symbiotes book.

For Hardy, this is a chance to sink his teeth into one of the most complex and nuanced characters in Marvel history, and it seems that’s something the Oscar-nominated actor isn’t taking lightly.

Via IGN:

I just wanted to say that I give you my word of honor that I’m going to do everything that I can to deliver the best Venom that I possibly can muster.

Directed by Zombieland‘s Ruben Fleisher with a script from Kelly Marcel (Fifty Shades of Grey), Venom is booked in for release on October 5th. Other Sony-funded Marvel projects in the works include a live-action adaptation of Morbius, the Living Vampire, indicating that, with the exception of Peter Parker, no Spider-Man character is off limits when it comes to the studio’s fledgling shared universe.

Could Venom draw story cues from The Five Symbiotes?

That’s the latest Marvel-related rumor bouncing off the walls of social media, and IGN’s exclusive photo reveal has only added fuel to the fire. Embedded below, it brought us up close and personal with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, a reporter (Boston Globe?) who’s about to have his life upturned by an alien symbiote.

Going one step further, it’s now understood that Venom will largely center on the Life Foundation, given the text on Eddie Brock’s notebook (see below) makes reference to the nefarious organization. In the comics, the Life Foundation was introduced as a shady government body who believed that the Cold War would result in a widespread nuclear holocaust. And so, in the interest of protecting their own, they constructed a bunker to protect their wealthy clients, all the while creating other Venom-esque creatures. Eek!

Early Story Clues For Venom Point To The Five Symbiotes

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It’s admittedly hard to make out, so we’ve transcribed the little information we can find. Spot something we’ve missed? Be sure to chime in with your own observations via the comments section.

“So how exactly does the Life Foundation go about testing its pharmaceuticals?”

“What about the allegations your Empire is built on?”

“That you recruit the most vulnerable of the volunteers for the tests that more often than not end up […] them?”

One thing we can tell you with absolute certainty is that director Ruben Fleisher had earmarked both Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector when crafting his live-action adaptation, one he believes will deliver a “stunning performance” from Tom Hardy.

Via IGN:

I can promise you badass action, Venom’s dark humor, and I can also promise you an absolutely stunning performance by Tom Hardy.

Though it’s a little underwhelming that IGN’s reveal didn’t spotlight the titular symbiote, it’s important to remember that Eddie Brock’s alter-ego is being rendered in full CGI, meaning it’s unlikely the effects team are ready to showcase their monstrous creation.

There’s a lot riding on Venom, too, given it’s been tasked with launching Sony’s own Marvel universe – a universe that is in no way connected to the MCU…yet. Other projects in the pipeline include a live-action rendition of Morbius, the Living Vampire and the female-fronted spinoff, Silver and Black, which is coming by way of Gina Prince-Bythewood.

Ever since Sony announced their Tom Hardy-starring Venom movie, fans have been wondering what (if any) connection it would have to Spider-Man. While I suppose a completely disconnected film might work, the foundation of Venom’s character is his hatred for the webslinger – stemming from Peter Parker’s rejection of the symbiote after he realized it was trying to permanently bond with his body. Though both Sony and Marvel have denied any chance of Spidey swinging by for a cameo, a source is now saying that “he knows” Tom Holland is going to appear in Venom.

Said source is writer/director Jon Schnepp, who’s directed Metalocalypse, The Venture Bros and the feature-length documentary about the aborted 1990s Tim Burton Superman project, The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened? His opinion on this comes via Collider Video Head of Development Kristian Harloff, who today Tweeted the following:

Damn @JonSchnepp dropping bombs and saying he knows that Spiderman will be in #Venom on #collidrmovietalk Tom Holland’s Spiderman!

Schnepp quickly Re-Tweeted this, essentially giving it his seal of approval, but still, I’ve been burnt too many times not to be suspicious of this news. All accounts to date posit Venom as a completely standalone movie, one that Sony hopes might launch their own little Marvel universe. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appearing would pretty much blow that out of the water, placing the film squarely within the MCU.

IGN Drops First Official Look At Tom Hardy's Venom

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With that also comes a certain amount of profit sharing between Sony and Disney, and while Spider-Man: Homecoming made both parties a bunch of money, major Hollywood studios aren’t famed for their cooperative skills. On top of that, putting Spider-Man in the movie implies that Tom Holland’s wallcrawler has already donned and rejected the symbiote suit, which feels like character development that we should probably see on screen first (let’s just ignore Spider-Man 3 for the moment). And, if it were the case, wouldn’t Sony want to be shouting this from the rooftops to build up hype for Venom?

If Schneep is right, I’d guess we’ll probably hear confirmation sooner rather than later. Until then, let’s keep an eye on where Tom Holland is shooting over the next couple of months…

Venom is set to crawl into theaters on October 5th, 2018.

With each day that passes, it’s looking increasingly likely that Cletus Kasady is the chief antagonist of Venom, Sony and Ruben Fleischer’s adult-oriented spinoff set to carve out a new corner within the Spider-Man universe.

Better known to you, I and the people of New York City as Carnage, the mentally unstable symbiote who goes on to become Eddie Brock’s sworn enemy, Kasady’s alleged role in the film has been well-documented, with many believing that Riz Ahmed (Rogue One, Nightcrawler) will be the one to portray Carnage (or even The Chameleon?) come October.

Adding fuel to the fire today is a now-deleted Instagram post from Tom Hardy himself, which features a graphic, almost graffiti-esque rendition of Eddie Brock (Venom) operating under the shadow of Kasady’s warped alter-ego, Carnage. Feast thy eyes on it in the gallery below (which also includes some recent set pics!):

Tom Hardy All But Confirms Carnage's Role In Venom

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Before we jump to conclusions, it’s important to stress that Ahmed is officially listed as playing Dr. Carlton Drake, head of the nefarious Life Foundation. True to Ruben Fleischer’s original promise, this indicates that Venom will indeed take cues from the Lethal Protector comic series, after all, perhaps incorporating five other symbiotes – namely Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony – into its mysterious story.

The Life Foundation, meanwhile, was first introduced as a shady government body who believed that the Cold War would result in a widespread nuclear holocaust, so even if Drake winds up being a cover-up for Carnage – thereby taking inspiration from Star Trek Into Darkness (Khan) and Spectre (Blofeld) – it’d be foolish to trust Riz Ahmed’s character and his motivations. Hell, according to the latest rumor kicking around, Eddie Brock may call upon the help of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man in order to foil Drake’s masterplan.

All will be revealed once Venom scurries into theaters on October 5th.

Is there another in-development comic book movie that’s garnered the same level of buzz as Venom?

With the exception of Avengers: Infinity War, Sony and Ruben Fleischer’s Spider-Man spinoff has been placed under such an intense spotlight that it seems like we’re never too far away from the next piece of content – leaked or otherwise. And sure enough, celebrity news agency Backgrid has uncovered the latest reel of footage that shows Eddie Brock writhing around in agony on the streets of Atlanta.

Dressed in civvies and looking a little worse for wear, Tom Hardy’s famous anti-hero is then faced with Scott Haze, whose mysterious villain appears to threaten Eddie before Ruben Fleischer yells “cut!” It’s admittedly a little blurry, but see if you can spot any story clues from the embedded clip.

Our guess? Hardy is beginning to feel the effects of the symbiote, and is trying to wrangle Venom under control. Haze’s character, meanwhile, can likely be traced back to the nefarious Life Foundation, a top-secret government body that has its roots in Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector – two comic books that will seemingly have a major bearing on Venom‘s story.

Couple this with the rumored appearance of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man – not to mention Riz Ahmed as Cletus Kasady (AKA Carnage) – and you have all the makings of a superpowered hit. In terms of the wall-crawler’s alleged involvement, John Schepp, the director The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened?, recently claimed that said cameo is essentially a done deal.

Spider-Man is going to be in Venom. For the last couple of months, we’ve been hearing how Sony is keeping it all separated, and Spider-Man is in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but every other character that’s in the Spider-Man universe is separate. All I’m saying is that Spider-Man—and I’m talking about Tom Holland’s Spider-Man—is going to be in Venom.

Marvel and Sony Pictures were able to broker a deal that allowed Holland’s web-head to appear in Civil War – and later Spider-Man: Homecoming and the upcoming Avengers sequels – so it’s not exactly out of the question. One thing we can tell you with absolute certainty though is that Venom has been earmarked for release on October 5th, at which point Hardy will seemingly deliver a superhero performance for the ages.

Is there another in-development comic book movie that’s garnered the same level of buzz as Venom?

With the exception of Avengers: Infinity War, Sony and Ruben Fleischer’s Spider-Man spinoff has been placed under such an intense spotlight that it seems like we’re never too far away from the next piece of content – leaked or otherwise. And sure enough, we’ve now got yet another update.

If you recall, the internet lost it yesterday when producer/director John Schnepp claimed that Tom Holland would be showing up in Venom. Given how many times we’ve heard that the project would be completely separate from the MCU, and that Spidey would not be involved, most people called him out, saying he was completely wrong with his scoop. Now, he’s clarifying things.

Tom Hardy All But Confirms Carnage's Role In Venom

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On the most recent episode of Collider’s Heroes, Schnepp explained that Holland has shot scenes for Sony’s spinoff, but not as Spider-Man. Rather, he’ll be making a cameo as Peter Parker. Furthermore, he explained that those who claimed a crossover wouldn’t work because Venom will be R-rated are wrong, as there’s been no confirmation of an R-rating just yet and it could end up being PG-13.

Of course, without any word on this from the studio, we’d advise taking what Schnepp says with a grain of salt. Admittedly, he sounds pretty confident in his intel, but on the other hand, we’ve been burned too many times on this issue not to be suspicious of it. All accounts to date posit Venom as a completely standalone movie, one that Sony hopes might launch their own little Marvel universe. Tom Holland’s Spider-Man appearing would pretty much blow that out of the water, placing the film squarely within the MCU.

With that also comes a certain amount of profit sharing between Sony and Disney, and while Spider-Man: Homecoming made both parties a bunch of money, major Hollywood studios aren’t famed for their cooperative skills. On top of that, putting Spider-Man in the movie implies that Tom Holland’s wallcrawler has already donned and rejected the symbiote suit, which feels like character development that we should probably see on screen first (let’s just ignore Spider-Man 3 for the moment). And, if it were the case, wouldn’t Sony want to be shouting this from the rooftops to build up hype for Venom?

Then again, like we said above, Disney and Sony Pictures were able to broker a deal that allowed Holland’s web-head to appear in Civil War – and later Spider-Man: Homecoming and the upcoming Avengers sequels – so it’s not exactly out of the question. At this point, though, we’ll just have to wait and see.

Venom has been earmarked for release on October 5th, and whether Tom Holland is involved or not, it seems all but certain that Tom Hardy will deliver a superhero performance for the ages.

Ever since Ruben Fleischer’s Venom took the defining step into production, the Internet has been awash with candid set photos and leaked videos featuring Tom Hardy in character as the haunted Eddie Brock.

Thanks to IGN, though, the other week finally saw the release of Venom‘s first official photo. Unfortunately, however, it wasn’t much and didn’t even give us a look at how the titular antihero will appear in the film. True, we’ll take what we can get at this stage, but it was wholly underwhelming and as such, fans are left wanting more. After all, there aren’t many in-development comic book movies that’ve garnered the same level of buzz as Venom, are there?

With the exception of Avengers: Infinity War, the upcoming Spider-Man spinoff has been placed under such an intense spotlight that it seems like we’re never too far away from the next piece of content – leaked or otherwise. And sure enough, we’ve now got another set video. Like that aforementioned photo from IGN, though, it’s not terribly exciting and simply shows Hardy and Michelle Williams having a chat. But if it’s anything and everything Venom you’re after, you can check it out down below.

#Venom setinden Tom Hardy ve Michelle Williams. pic.twitter.com/Hx8xVDSQgQ

— Kültürpat (@Kulturpat) January 25, 2018

Speaking of Williams, the actress finally confirmed not too long ago that she’s playing Anne Weying in the pic. Of course, this is a name that comes with a loaded meaning to fans, as Weying becomes She-Venom in the comics, after she bonds with an offshoot of the savage symbiote.

And while it seems a sure bet that this will be the direction the film heads in, recent comments from Williams suggest that her character may not “symbiote up” after all. While talking to Collider, she was questioned about the recently revealed model work and explained that she didn’t know a great deal about that process as her role doesn’t crossover with the “digital realm.”

“That stuff exists in a realm that I’m not involved in. It’s in the digital realm. And I’m still a human, like, after all this time. They haven’t digitized me.”

So, what are we to think then? Well, it’s far too early to say for sure what’s going on with Williams’ character in the movie, but fans shouldn’t be too cut up if She-Venom isn’t involved in the production. After all, there are a whole bunch of other symbiotes likely to show up instead.

Multiples sources – including director Ruben Fleischer and Tom Hardy – have cited comic book inspirations for the project that feature six different symbiotes. Namely, Carnage, Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony. As such, there’s still more than enough to look forward to when Venom swings into theaters later this year on October 5th.