These days, it’s not uncommon for actors to have played more than one superhero in movies and television. Tom Hardy, of course, is a member of that exclusive club, having previously been Bane in The Dark Knight Rises, and is now headlining Venom as the titular anti-hero. Actually, he was originally cast as Rick Flag for Suicide Squad but was replaced by Joel Kinnaman due to a scheduling conflict.

Given that, it’s only natural that fans bring up the neverending DC vs. Marvel debate because, let’s face it, we all have our preference. In my case, I do prefer DC, but love characters and stories coming from both publishers. It’s all really a matter of opinion.

As was to be expected, Hardy’s now being asked which way he leans, something that came up in a recent interview with Total Film where he said:

“I’m quite mercenary. I’m not a fully paid up member of any group. It’s really awesome to have played in both camps. It’s a real honour. And I got really cool ones. I got Bane and Venom, and I’ve got Mad Max as well. I’ve got some nice cosplay under my belt, some cosplay scalp, as it were…”

Eddie Brock Channels His Inner Demon In This All-New Venom Photo

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Though Tom was obviously staying classy and objective, I’ll take him at his word when it comes to not having a preference between the two. I also couldn’t help noticing he played the Mad Max card, as that’s one other franchise that’s helped with boosting his geek cred. Funny enough, DC did publish comics based on that a few years back.

All that aside, the horror movie-influenced Venom is set to arrive in theaters on October 5th, and remains among my most anticipated superhero flicks to be released in 2018. Granted, we have only a few left this year, but anyone who frequents this site knows how much I’ve been looking forward to it for some time.

Badass as the upcoming Venom movie may appear, none of can be too sure of how it’ll go over with general audiences and critics. But if it does prove to be a smash hit and rakes in a nice amount of dough at the box office, then odds are that a sequel or sequels will follow.

If that’s the case, then there’s certainly a lot of source material for Hollywood to mine. More than likely knowing this, director Ruben Fleischer was willing to tease us with the following while speaking with Total Film, the very same publication that asked Tom Hardy to weigh in on the DC vs. Marvel debate:

“There are other villains in the movie too – we’re definitely planning a big world with these characters.”

Though it may appear as though Carnage won’t be showing up in the first outing as many True Believers had hoped, Fleischer plays it coy when it comes to that topic:

“I think it’ll be really fun for fans to go see the movie and see for themselves.”

Here's What Carnage Could Look Like In The Venom Movie

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Having read that, I think we should pay close attention for whatever Easter eggs or foreshadowing the film may have in store, not to mention the possibility of a post-credits scene. To be honest, I’m a little surprised that Carnage wasn’t the chief antagonist this time around, but we’ll probably see him sooner rather than later.

Speaking of which, actress Michelle Williams also seems more than willing to broaden this universe, as she’s seemingly game for allowing her character of Anne Weying to become She-Venom like her comic book counterpart:

“She-Venom would be a dream come true!”

Venom opens in theaters on October 5th. Whether the likes of Poison, Anti-Venom or, dare I say, Gwenom show up in future installments though remains to be seen.

As a film about a murderous alien symbiote who bites the heads off criminals when he’s in the best of moods, Venom doesn’t sound like the most kid-friendly of comic book flicks, making it all the more disappointing when fans heard that Eddie Brock’s first standalone film is likely to be saddled with a PG-13 rating. But if you still want to hold out hope that the upcoming Sony feature will join the likes of Logan and Deadpool in the elite club of R-rated superhero movies, it’s worth noting that no MPAA classification been confirmed yet, with director Ruben Fleischer suggesting that things could still go either way at this point.

Speaking to Total Film, the Zombieland helmsman explain how they packed enough grisly moment into Venom to place the movie somewhere near the dividing line between PG-13 and R.

“We’re curious to see where it’ll land.

But we pushed the envelope as far as we possibly could in terms of just making it the most true to the comics version of the film that we could. He’s a character that goes around biting people’s heads off and eating brains. So we tried to respect that as much as we could.”

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Star Tom Hardy was similarly hesitant to say what age rating the film would get, but also alluded to the likelihood that a PG-13 movie would stand a better chance at the box office.

“You want to reach as big an audience as possible with one of these movies, because they’re good fun. My son steered me onto Venom. There would be things I would probably cover his eyes for. It depends how sensitive a nine-year-old’s parents are. It’s not my place to say. I don’t really know what [rating] they’re going to give it. But, it can pivot to either/or, if that makes sense. The IP lends itself to gore, and it also lends itself to a black comedy action thriller, as well.”

As much as Fleisher likes to play up the film’s gore credentials, it seems more likely than not that the studio will be keen to kick off their clunkily titled Sony Universe of Marvel Characters with something that the kids will be able to see. That puts Venom in the pretty tough position of having to please fans the often gruesome comics while keeping things relatively clean for younger viewers. And we’ll get to see if Fleischer and the team can pull off this tricky balance when the film comes out on October 5th.

With the release of Ruben Fleischer’s Venom so close you can practically smell the toxicity in the air, earlier this week, it was revealed that the sinister symbiote will be gracing the cover of Total Film. While the artwork was unquestionably an extraordinary tease of the October 5th release, evidently, what’s on the inside of the magazine is far more tantalizing.

According to the outlet, Tom Hardy’s signed on to portray the cantankerous Klyntar in a trilogy. That is, should the initial installment go over well, of course: “I’m open to whatever you want to do with it. We’ve signed up for three of them. So it’s very much an open case. We’ll see what people’s responses are to it,” said the actor.

Perplexingly, despite the Academy Award nominee saying he’s “kind of had enough” of acting, Hardy ostensibly “loved playing both” Eddie Brock and Venom and is game for whatever the “Venom-verse” has in store for him:

“I think it’s an awesome character. I love playing both of them. It’s an amuse-bouche, and for Sony, it’s the Venom-verse launched in isolation, as it were,” he concluded.

It's Tom Hardy's Venom Vs. Tom Holland's Spider-Man In Epic New Fan Art

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Should Venom perform well at the ticket booth – which, if early tracking is any indication, it most definitely will – Sony seemingly has a blueprint in place to spin-off several other Spidey-related characters (see: Morbius the Living Vampire, Silk and Jackpot, to name but three), not to mention the possibility of a crossover with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

That said, let’s take it one step at a time and hope the starting point is a success. After all, reactions to the latest Venom trailer were a bit mixed, and though an official rating hasn’t been handed out yet, if it ends up with a PG-13, you can be certain that a good portion of the fanbase will be up in arms.

While the recent Venom promo has drawn a fair amount of ridicule for the murderous symbiote’s “turd in the wind” line, the initial trailer for the Ruben Fleischer-helmed flick got its own wave of criticism for not including enough of the titular alien anti-hero. While there is something to be said for the more-is-less approach of this ominous first preview, many viewers wished they would just get to the point, with Kevin Smith concisely summing up the backlash when he commented, “I didn’t see a Venom trailer. I saw Tom Hardy: The Movie.”

Nonetheless, Fleischer stands by this early teaser, explaining to Total Film Magazine that the footage seemed to do its job of whetting the appetites of viewers.

“I’m really pleased with the way the marketing for this film has gone. I think the trailer guys have done a great job of building anticipation. The first trailer was truly a teaser. I think it did tease everybody. That’s why people were pissed, because they wanted more. The truth is, the VFX weren’t ready, so that’s the main thing. But I also think it’s good to leave them wanting more. Isn’t that the first rule of entertainment, that you leave them wanting more?”

Venom Flashes A Wicked Grin In Latest Action Shot

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Since then, we’ve been able to see a lot more of the symbiote form that will feature in the upcoming film, but Fleischer argues that this effects-heavy footage wouldn’t have been so well received if it weren’t for the first trailer’s stinginess in Venom clips.

“Hopefully people will be excited they get to see him in all his glory, and won’t be disappointed by it. But they’ve also been, you know, really eager to see it. It’s a sign of excitement that the marketing department has been able to build through the process. If they’d given everything away at first blush, I’m not sure that people would still be invested.”

Here’s hoping audiences will still feel invested once they get a feature-length look at the character, since Tom Hardy has apparently signed up for three films in the role. We’ll see if the build-up pays off when Venom hits theaters on October 5th.

Dr. Carlton Drake is like a man possessed in today’s first official TV spot for Venom.

At only 30 seconds in length, it doesn’t offer much in the way of new footage, but there is a shot of Riz Ahmed’s brooding supervillain ordering his goons to seize control of Eddie Brock before things get out of control. And, well, let’s just say things don’t exactly go according to plan…

For Drake, that means switching to plan B – a plan which involves dosing himself with an alien parasite to become Riot, an imitator of Venom’s and one of the five symbiotes birthed under the Life Foundation, which just so happens to be Drake’s lavish HQ.

The film begins with Eddie Brock, a down-on-his-luck reporter, investigating the Life Foundation and its human experiments, only to fall prey to Venom and its mind-altering abilities. And the rest is history.

Eddie Brock Channels His Inner Demon In This All-New Venom Photo

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What’s particularly interesting about Venom is that Sony Pictures is hoping to spin out its own Marvel Universe based on characters closely associated with Spider-Man. The sinister symbiote will be the first one to tumble off the production line, though the fact that Tom Hardy has already signed for three movies tell us that Sony wants to use his character as the anchor point of this fledgling franchise – not unlike how Iron Man shaped the early years of the MCU, for instance.

And that’s before we even consider those other Spider-Man spinoffs featuring Morbius, Kraven and other big-name villains synonymous with Peter Parker. So, you know, no pressure…

We’ll find out whether Venom sinks or swims on October 5th. Oh, and let’s not forget about those relentless rumors linking Woody Harrelson with the role of Carnage, Eddie Brock’s most formidable foe.

Not for the first time, Venom director Ruben Fleischer has gone on record to wax lyrical about Tom Hardy’s dual performance.

If you’re not yet up to speed, Hardy is playing not one, but two characters in the October comic book movie. The first is a down-on-his-luck reporter hoping to catch a break (read: Eddie Brock), and the other, well, it couldn’t be more different. Spoilers: it’s the sinister symbiote, better known to you, I and Carlton Drake as Venom.

We say Carlton Drake because Riz Ahmed’s conglomerate has a vested interest in Eddie Brock’s raging alter-ego – so much so, that he’s willing to inject himself with the symbiote strand so that he can become Riot, one of Venom’s offsprings who is every bit as tyrannical as his name suggests.

Riot is just one of the five symbiotes rumored to appear in Ruben Fleischer’s Spider-Man spinoff, but while chatting to The Los Angeles Times (h/t Heroic Hollywood), the filmmaker once again heaped praise on Tom Hardy’s performance.

I think Tom is going to surprise a lot of people with his performance in this movie. It’s just a little different than we’re used to seeing him. There’s no mask in front of his face. He’s not playing a period. He’s just playing a contemporary guy. I think it’s just a little more of Tom than people have seen in a little bit.

Eddie Brock Channels His Inner Demon In This All-New Venom Photo

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It’s a performance for the ages, it seems, and Fleischer is confident that Tom Hardy will be able to knock everyone’s socks off come October. Which is just as well, given he’s already committed to a full-blown Venom trilogy at Sony Pictures.

Ruben Fleischer’s Venom film will be the first domino to fall on October 5th, and only then will we know the tone and direction of Sony’s fledgling Marvel universe. One thing’s for sure: it’s shaping up to be decidedly different from the MCU.

Though we’re still waiting to hear news about the upcoming Venom movie’s MPAA rating, it sounds like the alien symbiote’s first standalone picture will at least offer as gruesome a spectacle as any PG-13 flick can deliver, with director Ruben Fleischer insisting that the film’s violent content will be “pushed to the hilt.”

The age rating for the Tom Hardy-led feature has been a source of sustained interest and a little concern for fans of Eddie Brock’s comic book outings as of late, since these haven’t always been the most child-friendly of escapades. While recent superhero flicks like Deadpool 2 and Logan have offered further evidence that the R-rating isn’t taboo for the genre or a dealbreaker at the box office, there’s a distinct possibility that the potential MCU connections of Fleischer’s film – not to mention the movie’s responsibility of kicking off a new cinematic universe – will result in Venom getting saddled with the more commercially appealing of the two ratings.

Venom's Japanese Poster Has Arrived With Added Bite

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Nonetheless, the director assures us that the movie will succeed in carving out a distinct and appealing identity for itself, in terms of tone if not gore. Speaking to The LA Times, here’s what he had to say:

“I feel like the casting, the aesthetic and the character himself all combine to make something that just feels different. Tonally it doesn’t remind you of other movies. It doesn’t feel like we just tried to do what everyone else is doing…. The DC universe is so aggressively dark and the Marvel universe has become so light. It was kind of exciting to craft something that just felt a little bit more real and grounded and in our world.”

Indeed, a real-world film calls for a real-world performance, and Fleischer maintains in this same interview that Tom Hardy’s compellingly down-to-Earth lead turn will be another reason to check Venom out and is sure to surprise audiences. That’s certainly exciting to hear, and we’ll find out if the director can make good on this hype when the film comes out on October 5th.

Is Spider-Man and/or Peter Parker poised to appear in Venom, or not?

That’s the potentially million-dollar question that’s been looming over Sony’s Spidey-less (?) spinoff since its inception, which means that, over the past few months, director Ruben Fleischer has been soliciting all sorts of questions about Venom, its alleged place in the MCU (not true), and those incessant rumors claiming that Tom Holland’s Wall-Crawler has been earmarked for a possible cameo appearance.

And just when you thought the latter question had been answered once and for all, Fleischer adds a little ambiguity into the mix. For instance, while speaking to The Los Angeles Times (h/t ComicBook.com) about Tom Hardy’s dual performance and the level of violence we can expect from Venom, the filmmaker took a moment to address Spider-Man’s rumored involvement.

I honestly don’t know what I’m allowed to say. I mean, I know the answer — I’ve seen the movie. But I don’t want to get in trouble for saying something I’m not supposed to.

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Frankly, at this point, we wouldn’t be all that surprised if Fleischer was being intentionally vague about Spider-Man’s alleged role just to drum up excitement.

Because while the movie undoubtedly boasts A-list talent across the board, Venom hasn’t exactly set the Internet alight, after a Fandango poll about fall’s most-anticipated movies ranked Sony’s spinoff third, where it placed behind Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald (November 16th) and Bohemian Rhapsody (November 2nd).

That’s pretty telling, as a high-profile comic book movie typically blows its competition out of the water when it comes to hype and excitement. But it seems Ruben Fleischer still has some people to convince if Venom is to hit the big time on October 5th.

“I’m Eddie Brock. I’m a reporter.”

By now, those words are as burned into my brain as “my name is Oliver Queen” because Sony seemingly loves starting off pretty much every trailer promoting Venom with that very line. Really, I’m now expecting to hear it more than the ominous “we are Venom.”

Repetition aside, it’s always appreciated whenever the studio drops some new footage. As you may have read, TV spots are now beginning to circulate since we’re within reaching distance of opening weekend. And if that weren’t enough, a new international trailer promoting the flick on the other side of the Pacific recently hit the web, the entirety of which can be viewed at the top of this article.

Contrary to whatever hatred the naysayers have to spew, I’m still very much looking forward to this movie because everything I’ve seen pertaining to it is so badass. The iconic logo may be absent from the titular anti-hero’s chest, sure, but I’m positive that I can work past the omission. After all, Dolph Lundgren didn’t rock the skull in 1989’s The Punisher, yet I’m able to appreciate that offering as a decent 80’s action film.

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Should this solo outing prove successful, then perhaps we’ll be able to see more symbiotes in the future. Don’t forget, lead actor Tom Hardy did sign on for a trilogy, not to mention the fact that Carnage and She-Venom have also been teased by the cast and crew.

Beyond that, it’s anybody’s guess as to where this franchise could go, but there’s certainly much potential when it comes to introducing more cool looking characters to the mainstream. Anti-Venom is among the first to spring to mind, though I’m sure some of you are thinking about Gwenom as well. When it comes to the latter, perhaps it’d be best to introduce the concept of Spider-Gwen to the live action realm first, but you really never know with Sony.

Venom opens in theaters on October 5th.

With Tom Hardy signed on to portray the sinister symbiote indefinitely, we’ll undoubtedly be exposed to an excessive dosage of Venom over the next decade or so. That said, before Sony can proceed with their “Universe of Marvel Characters,” the cantankerous Klyntar must prove there’s still money to be made in the superhero racket.

Although early tracking is teasing a record-breaking opening weekend for Eddie Brock, the mixed reception to the latest Venom trailer – which was contumeliously criticized for using the word “turd” – has cast doubt on the solo venture. Thankfully, then, the marketing blitz for Ruben Fleischer’s motion picture has quickly put the misstep in the rearview mirror.

While it doesn’t contain much in the way of new footage, the latest TV spot for Venom – which you can check out up above – should effectively wash any remnant of faecal matter down the drain, and put the sinister symbiote on a fresh spin cycle.

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Still without an MPAA rating, Venom is evidently the foundation on which Sony will stack a number of other Marvel spinoffs – including Morbius the Living Vampire, Silk and Jackpot – to create their very own cinematic universe. It should be noted, however, that fabricating a shared motion picture realm similar to that of the MCU is no easy feat, just ask WB and DC.

Ultimately, we’re all playing the waiting game at the moment, as Venom – co-starring Michelle Williams as Anne Weying and Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot – isn’t due to infest your local multiplex until October 5th. Rest assured, though, should the solo debut of the cantankerous Klyntar go over well, you can expect the SUMC to start taking shape at an alarming rate.

Beyond talk of franchise building and dubious dialogue (“like a turd in the wind”), one of the big, unanswered Venom questions concerns Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, and whether or not he has a role in the Ruben Fleischer-directed spinoff.

The filmmaker himself has always played coy when asked about Spider-Man’s involvement in the anti-hero pic – or lack thereof – which has only paved the way for multiple fan theories to pop up online, the latest of which comes to us by way of Reddit.

Essentially, it suggests that Venom is rooted in an alternate universe, thereby explaining Tom Holland’s role as the young Peter Parker. We should stress that this is total conjecture at this point, as neither Marvel Studios nor Sony have outright confirmed the addition of Spidey. But if anything, this ongoing radio silence has only fanned the flames of speculation, rather than stomping them out entirely.

Which brings us to this particular Venom theory…

I know Tom Holland was spotted on set, but there was no official confirmation. Venom has been speculated to be in the MCU (I don’t) others saying its in its own universe (I do, kinda). I think that its somewhere in between. Venom should take place in a parallel universe, where Peter goes home instead of staying on the Q-ship. What makes me think this? Since it’s not in the MCU, and it’s a spider-man villain, with the rights going to Marvel Studios, and it is after all, associated with Marvel, I think they would make a parallel universe where, Spider-man comes home with the Iron-Spider suit (This is not any type of reference to Spider-man: Homecoming or anything).

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It’s undoubtedly a stretch, as spinning out an alternate timeline would risk stepping on the toes of Marvel Studios and its own plans for Avengers 4. Besides, Sony currently has multiple Spider-Man spinoffs gestating in development (see: Morbius, Kraven), so there’s really no good reason for the studio to steer Venom in a totally different direction.

Regardless, the Redditor continues on by saying the following:

This would be very cool to see, although it probably won’t happen due to the fact that the snap would have to be in it. This also COULD BE the one of the 14,000,605 cases in which they win (maybe strange saw one without Peter, which is the one they win) i’m not saying it Peter’s fault, but there are plenty of cases without peter that they lose. We haven’t seen anything where anything happens in New York (where the Q-ship comes for Ebony Maw and Cull Obsidian to fight Tony, Strange, Banner, Wong, and Peter). But then again, this is cannon to the MCU. Thank you for reading.

Venom slithers into theaters on October 5th – with or without Spider-Man in tow.

The alien symbiote at the center of the upcoming Venom movie has a pretty twisted diet that apparently includes the heads of trembling criminals, so it only figures that he would have the menacing tongue to match.

Actor Tom Hardy just took to Instagram with the latest poster for Eddie Brock’s first standalone film, and here the spotlight is very much given to the long, dangling tongue of Spider-Man’s old foe, as Venom looms forebodingly from above.

While there’s not much to object to in this new image, the promotion for Ruben Fleischer’s next directorial work hasn’t always been met with the warmest of responses. The criticism received by the first Venom trailer for its lack of Venom got to the point where the director to felt the need to defend the marketing team, while admitting that the symbiote’s visual effects weren’t yet ready. Though subsequent trailers certainly gave us a lot more of the film’s titular antihero, Hardy’s notorious ‘turd in the wind’ line continues to draw snickers.

Tom Hardy Unveils Menacing New Venom Poster

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All that being said, the advertising for next month’s release can’t have been that off-putting, seeing how Venom is currently projected to break the box office record set by Gravity for largest domestic opening weekend in October. And with the film set to be the first entry in the awkwardly titled Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, lord knows, Sony would surely like this one to be a hit, even if that potentially means saddling the movie with a PG-13 rating to ensure the kids can get into cinemas.

A long tongue is impressive and all, but a long-lasting franchise would really be something, and we’ll see if Eddie Brock is up to the challenge when Venom hits theaters on October 5th.

With the sinister symbiote slated to slither into theaters next month, we’ve finally received word of just how much damage we can expect Sony’s Venom spinoff to inflict upon the box office once it’s released. Initially believed to fall somewhere between $30 and $50 million, the film, starring Tom Hardy as the cantankerous Klyntar, is now headed towards a much more monstrous debut. At least, that’s according to Deadline.

Scheduled to release on October 5th, Venom‘s said to be presently eyeing a huge $60-$70 million opening weekend which, if gauged correctly, would see the Marvel Entertainment production break the box office record held by Alfonso Cuarón’s seven-time Academy Award-winning picture Gravity.

That’s the film which can currently lay claim to the largest domestic opening weekend in October, at an out of this world $55.7 million. However, if analysts’ estimations hold true, Venom should be able to trounce that figure with the utmost of ease. I mean, even at the low end of its projection ($60 million), it’ll be able to steal the crown from Gravity.

Venom Bares Its Teeth On New Images For Sony's Anti-Hero Spinoff

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Still without an MPAA rating, Venom is evidently the foundation on which the studio will begin to push out a number of other Marvel spinoffs – including Morbius the Living Vampire, Silk and Jackpot – to create their very own cinematic universe. It should be said, though, that piecing together a shared motion picture realm similar to that of the MCU is no easy feat. Just ask WB and DC, who’ve struggled to emulate Marvel’s success over the years.

If these projections for Venom – co-starring Michelle Williams as Anne Weying and Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot – hold true though, and the solo debut of the cantankerous Klyntar goes over well, you can expect the SUMC to start taking shape at an alarming rate.

“I’m Eddie Brock. I’m a reporter.”

By this point, those words should be burned into your brain as Sony seemingly loves starting off pretty much every trailer for Venom with that very line. Honestly, it’s becoming more of a tagline for the film than the ominous “we are Venom.”

Repetition aside, it’s always nice to see the studio dropping some new footage, and with the pic’s release quickly approaching, TV spots are now beginning to circulate as we inch closer and closer to opening weekend. That continues today, too, with the latest Venom trailer arriving online to give Eddie Brock a chance to let the devil in, so to speak.

Featuring the song that Eminem wrote for the film, there’s not much in the way of new footage here, but it still serves as a nice little teaser of what’s to come. That being said, the promotion for Ruben Fleischer’s next directorial work hasn’t always been met with the warmest of responses.

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The criticism received by the first trailer for its lack of Venom led to various cast and crew defending the marketing team, while admitting that the symbiote’s visual effects weren’t yet ready. Though subsequent trailers certainly gave us a lot more of the film’s titular antihero, Hardy’s notorious ‘turd in the wind’ line still draws snickers.

All that being said, the advertising for next month’s release can’t have been that off-putting, seeing how Venom‘s currently on pace to break a few box office records. Whether it’ll be able to do enough damage to warrant the rest of the spinoffs Sony’s planning remains to be seen, but we’re hopeful that it’s at least a more enjoyable outing for the sinister symbiote than Spider-Man 3 was.

Theater chains across the States are beginning to reveal Venom‘s official rating and runtime – it’s PG-13 and spans for one hour and 52 minutes.

Yes, it seems Ruben Fleischer’s Spider-Man-less Spider-Man spinoff has settled for the much more palatable PG-13 rating, as opposed to a hard R as some had hoped. That’s not to say the end product won’t be violent – Venom‘s teaser trailer literally alludes to a shot of the Sinister Symbiote chomping on a human head – but considering this is the maiden voyage, so to speak, it’s unsurprising that Sony has favored a PG-13 in order to gauge interest.

Further down the road, other Sony-backed Spidey movies like Kraven and the Jared Leto-fronted Morbius may be awarded R ratings, but for the time being, Venom is playing things ‘safe’ with a family-friendly certificate which, in the year of Avengers: Infinity War and Marvel’s Ant-Man and the Wasp, may bode well for such a crucial release.

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We say crucial because Venom has been elected as Sony’s franchise-starter, and let’s just say the Powers That Be will hoping that their October tentpole is more akin to Iron Man than, say, The Mummy, which effectively sank the Dark Universe before it even began.

Early box office projections appear to be in Venom‘s favor, after it was revealed that the anti-hero spinoff is headed for a $60M-$70M opening weekend in North America, with A Star is Born coming in at second place with around $30 million. Those figures are based on early tracking and are therefore subject to change, so we’ll be bringing you all the latest as we inch closer and closer to October 5th.

It’s official: when Venom slithers into theaters next month, it’ll be rated PG-13 for comic book violence and occasional swearing. Oh, and it’ll run for one hour and 52 minutes, ensuring Sony’s budding franchise-starter is just under the two-hour marker.

From a business perspective, it certainly makes a lot of sense. Not only is the PG-13 rating much more palatable than a hard R, but it also leaves the door open for a possible Venom/Spider-Man crossover further down the road, which simply wouldn’t be possible if Eddie Brock’s raging alter-ego was introduced as a loose cannon, prowling the streets like a flesh-eating vigilante. And that’s just it.

The dark and sinister nature of Venom has left some feeling underwhelmed by Sony’s PG-13 rating, with some even going so far as to say that the Ruben Fleischer-directed spinoff is a wasted opportunity… before it’s even hit theaters. Nevertheless, if a previous quote from the filmmaker is any indication, there may still be hope for an unrated cut of Venom:

I wouldn’t rule anything out. We’ll have to see where it lands, I guess, but I wouldn’t rule anything out.

Tom Hardy Unveils Menacing New Venom Poster

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That comment was made to Fandango (h/t ComicBook.com) earlier this week, indicating that there’s still a sliver of hope for Venom‘s unrated cut – even if it is just a sliver.

Chances are the Powers That Be will consider rolling out an alternate version of Venom in time for the inevitable Blu-ray release, though again, it really depends on the film’s box office performance. If the movie tanks, then Sony will likely move on to its next Spider-Man project, but we have a sneaking suspicion that Venom is destined for box office glory – a $60M-$70M opening weekend, to be precise.

Aside from Logan, there really aren’t many comic book movies that ship without a post-credits scene.

And while the director has been tight-lipped about almost every aspect of the movie, Venom‘s Ruben Fleischer has essentially confirmed that next month’s Spider-Man-less Spider-Man spinoff will have a post-credits sting, after all.

News comes to us by way of Fandango, where Fleischer stated that the decision to overlook an after-credits tease would only be a waste of potential, particularly for a movie like Venom, which will soon face the difficult task of launching an entire franchise of comic book adaptations – other projects percolating in development include Kraven, Morbius, Nightwatch and the Silver and Black movies. And yes, that’s movies plural, after Sony made the decision to split is female ensemble piece into two separate products.

So perhaps Venom will herald some form of tease for Silver Sable or Black Cat? Or perhaps the Jared Leto-fronted Morbius? Either way, a teaser is in the pipeline…

“I think it would be a mistake of any superhero movie not to stay through the credits,” said the director.

Venom Gallery

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This is, after all, the beginning of Sony’s Marvel Universe, so it’s only fitting that Venom lays the groundwork for its inevitable successors. Exactly what Ruben Fleischer has up his sleeve is another question entirely, but with an early October release date locked in, it won’t be too long before we have the answers we so crave – including whether or not we’ll ever see the unrated version of Fleischer’s anti-hero pic, one which seemingly draws the performance of a lifetime from Tom Hardy.

Venom arrives on October 5th, and when it does, you may want to hang around after the credits roll.

The alien symbiote at the center of the upcoming Venom spinoff has a pretty messed up diet which apparently includes the heads of trembling criminals, so it only makes sense that he have the menacing tongue to match, right?

Star Tom Hardy hopped on Instagram earlier today to share a new IMAX poster for Eddie Brock’s first standalone film, and here the spotlight is very much given to the long, dangling tongue of Spider-Man’s old foe, with the one-sheet encouraging fans to check out the movie on the biggest screen possible early next month.

While there’s not much to object to here – it’s actually a pretty cool poster – the promotion for director Ruben Fleischer’s upcoming effort has so far been met with a mixed response. The criticism received by the film’s first trailer for its lack of Venom led to the director defending the marketing team, while admitting that the symbiote’s visual effects weren’t yet ready. Though subsequent trailers certainly gave us a lot more of the titular antihero, Hardy’s notorious ‘turd in the wind’ line continues to draw laughs around the internet.

Tom Hardy Debuts Awesome New Venom IMAX Poster

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Of course, this can’t be too encouraging for Sony, as Venom has been selected as their franchise-starter, and let’s just say the Powers That Be will be hoping that their October blockbuster is more akin to Iron Man than, say, The Mummy. Which, for those of you who may’ve forgotten about it (we don’t blame you), effectively sank the Dark Universe before it even began.

Early tracking appears to be in Venom‘s favor, though, after it was revealed that the Spidey spinoff is headed for a $60M-$70M opening weekend in North America, with A Star is Born coming in at second place with around $30 million. Those figures are based on early estimates and are therefore subject to change, but we’ll be bringing you all the latest as we inch closer and closer to October 5th, so stay tuned.

Despite the title character having his roots in the Spider-Man series, the upcoming Venom movie seems pretty isolated in this era of interconnected blockbusters, with Eddie Brock’s nemesis Peter Parker currently busy saving the universe and getting disintegrated in the MCU. Nonetheless, the new film still has a rich history of comic book storylines and imagery to draw from, and director Ruben Fleischer has assured us that his feature will contain a few subtle nods to the source material.

Speaking to Fandango, the filmmaker said that he’s excited for his work to receive the scrutiny of fans as they pick out the more carefully hidden references.

“I definitely tried to pepper in Easter eggs throughout the film. Some are more obvious than others. I’m excited for fans of the comics to see the movie and try to spot them.”

As a matter of fact, fans have already noticed some of these call-backs thanks to the recent Venom trailer.

“One thing I will say is that, you know, at least was really gratifying for me, is when the trailer came out, people recognized frames that were taken directly from the comics that we tried to recreate in the movie. That was really gratifying to me to see that people appreciated that we literally lifted iconic frames from the Venom comic book and put them in the movie.”

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Fleisher was especially pleased with the response to one particular slice of dialogue, saying:

“Even a line that’s featured in the trailer: ‘Eyes, lungs, pancreas. So many snacks, so little time,’ is directly taken from the comics,” Fleischer said. “It was exciting to me that people recognized that and appreciated that.”

Not only will the new Venom movie contain references to the property’s past, but it will likely also include some nods to the franchise’s future. As the first installment of Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters, it’s to be expected that the film will sow the seeds for a spinoff or two, perhaps in the confirmed post-credits sequence.

But before we think too hard about what’s to come in the future, it remains to be seen whether Fleisher can do justice to the comic book stories that came before his movie. And we’ll find out how he gets on when Venom hits theaters on October 5th.