Venom (Ruben Fleischer, October 5, 2018) Movie

Venom Movie Release Date Announced: Sony Dates Spider-Man Spin-Off
'Spider-Man' Spinoff 'Venom' Gets a Release Date

So uh.. this is officially happening. I'm guessing this isn't connected to the MCU in any way.

Scott Rosenberg (Con Air, Gone in Sixty Seconds, High Fidelity) and Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Jumanji reboot, The Dark Tower) have been hired to write the script.

Starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock. Ruben Fleischer is set to direct.

Venom by Donny Cates Vol. 1: Rex
Writer: Donny Cates
Artist: Ryan Stegman
Preorder from Amazon.
Donny Cates is doing something that we haven't seen with Venom before. He's diving deep into the history of the symbiotes with his run and it's been nothing but wonderful throughout the first several issues. If you're new to Venom and want something great to start with, give this comic a shot. Plus, Ryan Stegman on art is just another thing this book has going for it. - @Deanna

Spider-Man: New Ways to Die
Writer: Dan Slott w/ Mark Waid
Artist: John Romita Jr. w/ Adi Granov
Buy from Amazon.
"New Ways To Die" by Dan Slott and John Romita Jr. is one of my favorite Spider-Man arcs. Slott’s run is one giant soap opera, but a reader can jump into this arc and be ok. Peter faces Mister Negative, Venom, and Norman Osborn’s villains-turned-“hero” team called Thunderbolts. At this point in the Marvel canon, Osborn becomes the leader of SHIELD, renames it HAMMER, and makes his version of the Thunderbolts with characters who are more villains than anti-heroes. This is the first appearance of Anti-Venom, a redeemed Eddie Brock who is battling against the evil previous Venom host, Mac Gargan. There’s a ton of stuff happening in here, which should keep a reader turning the pages. Romita Jr.’s art is very polarizing, but I love it. It has a very distinct style. If you’re looking for something a little different from the traditional take on Venom, pick this up. - @xapplexpiex

Venom Vol. 3: Lethal Protector - Blood in the Water
Writer: Mike Costa
Artist: Mark Bagley, Paulo Siquiera
Buy from Amazon.
Not to be confused with the original "Lethal Protector" story (see next entry), this is a story from Mike Costa's recent series. After years with Mac Gargan and Flash Thompson, the symbiote made its way back to Eddie Brock. This particular story from the series featured another Venom reunion: the return of veteran artist Mark Bagley. As a classic Spidey fan, I loved seeing Bagley draw Venom versus Kraven the Hunter. This is proof that Spidey's rogues work with or without ol' Webhead himself. Also of note: Costa focuses a lot on the symbiote's perspective, a decision that the film also dabbled in. - @Tim

Venom: Lethal Protector
Writer: David Michelinie
Artist: Mark Bagley, Ron Lim
Buy from Amazon.
This classic Venom tale is a must-read if you're interested in the relationship between Eddie Brock and the symbiote. The movie is partially based off of this story and it doesn't take too long to get through. You could start with this series and still have a good understanding of Venom without diving too deep into the character's history. - @Deanna

Creator Owned Spotlight:
Monstress Volume 1: Awakening
Writer: Marjorie Liu
Artist: Sana Takeda
Buy from Amazon.
'Monstress': Inside The Fantasy Comic About Race, Feminism And The Monster Within
The fantasy world of Monstress is dark and unrelenting. In an unending war stuck in a stalemate, children of mixed blood are sold into slavery and used as fuel for the reigning pure blood sorceresses. Ghosts of ancients Gods the size of mountains haunt the war torn landscape. The story begins as what appears to be a simple revenge tale. Maika Halfwolf, one of my favorite anti-heroes I have ever read, is being sold into slavery along with a small half fox/half human named Kippa, who quickly becomes the vibrant light in the otherwise consistently dark tale. Immediately Maika takes her revenge and like any great fantasy epic, she realizes there is much more going on then she ever could have planned for. What Marjorie Liu has created here has continued to evolve into one of the best fantasy series I have ever read, fully deserving of being mentioned in the same breath as Tolkien, Martin, Sanderson, Jordan, etc... - @Vivatoto

 

If it's not connected to the MCU then they should cancel it. You need Spider-Man for Venom. Sony already has a live-action Spidey and will have an animated one, too. Are they going to have a 3rd spider-man? Stupid

 

lol They gave the director's job for one of the most beloved characters in comics to one of the two idiots that gave us The Amazing Spider-Man 2? Jeez, has Sony learned nothing from getting involved with the MCU?

 

They read what I said.

 

The only bad thing about this project is that the release date is two and a half months before the animated Miles Morales film. Going from a Peter appearance in May 2018's Infinity War (though we have no idea how much he'll actually be in that crowded project) to a Venom film in October 2018, to Miles Morales in December 2018, to the Homecoming sequel in July 2019 (and who knows if Peter also appears yet again in some capacity in Avengers 4 in May 2019). As an avid Spider-Man fan, I am 100% happy, and even excited, at the prospect of that much Spider-cinema... but, from a business perspective, it seems unwise.

Still, a Venom film outside of the MCU sounds generally like a great idea. I personally don't care if no Kevin Feige means the worst case scenario is hot mess instead of an inoffensive, vanilla popcorn film. If they keep the budget relatively low and get reasonably dark and scary, leaning into the McFarlane aesthetic, this will be a super cool project. I'd even take a reinvention that straight up ignores Spidey altogether if it means they can get away with more.

 

I want this movie to be similar to Spawn. lol

 

Newest rumor going around is that the film "Life" that comes out next week is a secret prequel to this, hence the quicker than normal release date for "Venom". Word is that Sony's been planning this for some time now.

 

Can't help myself when I see anything about Spawn, but I want a feature length along the lines of this fan film.

 

Highly unlikely, but it would've made me interested in Life lol.

 

lol, can you imagine if they had somehow thought a secret comic book prequel was a good idea?

 

I would've admired the audacity at least. Also, Life is rated R, so unless Sony plans to make an R-rated Venom movie, the theory makes even less sense.

 

Honestly, I'd totally be down with an R-rated Venom movie. I don't want gimmicky edginess or whatever, but a relative low budget, restrained R-rated Venom movie with a lot of horror influence would be super cool.

Of course that's totally not what's gonna happen, lol. Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if there's a weird part of the Marvel/Sony deal that limits what they can do with the Spider-Man property, even in a film not in the MCU and not featuring Spidey himself.

 

I'd be down with it too. Not sure if Sony is willing to take that kind of chance like Fox has, though it being unrelated to the MCU should give them more incentive to be a little risky. And ya, I have no idea what that Marvel/Sony deal allows or doesn't allow.

 

From Scripting ‘Deadpool’ to Creating ‘Life’: Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick on Naming Their Alien and That ‘Venom’ Theory

 

The untitled female-fronted Spider-character project in development pre-MCU deal is also still happening. It's a Black Cat and Silver Sable film. Christopher Yost (Thor: Ragnarok; X-23) is working on the script, which was previously developed by Lisa Joy.

Like the Venom film, this project will reportedly not be connected to the MCU; unlike Venom, it doesn't have a date, hence me not making a thread for it yet.

I can't decide if I like Black Cat being used outside of the MCU, but I do like the idea of Silver Sable getting that treatment. I also don't know how much I like these characters being thrown together, but maybe there's a cool story with a lot of intrigue that could be written for the two of them.

Sony developing Spider-Man spin-off about Black Cat and Silver Sable
Sony's Spider-Man Spinoffs Reportedly Unrelated To The MCU

 

Venom Film Listed As Horro Sci-Fi, Could Shoot in Fall

 

If they make it R-rated, I'm sold.

 

lol

Zac Efron Playing Venom in Sony's R-Rated Universe

 

HENRY WHAT ARE YOU DOING POSTING AN APRIL FOOLS ARTICLE A MONTH LATER AND NEARLY BREAKING MY HEART IN THE PROCESS GOSH DARN IT

 

I thought it said 5/1. WHOOPSIES.

 

I do think that Zac Efron would make a good Marvel character, but not Venom, lol.

I really hope that they take advantage of this being separate from the MCU (and seemingly any other film and Spider-Man as a whole), which can and should be an advantage more than a disadvantage. One standalone film, with a sequel maybe a few years later or so, could attract an actor that would be resistant to signing onto a half dozen MCU/DCEU/X-Men appearances from the start. A lot of actors out there seem interested in jumping on the comic book bandwagon but wary of the commitment necessary for these big franchises.

Basically, I just really want a Tom Hardy or Idris Elba as Eddie Brock. Maybe that's unrealistic, but it'd be perfect.

 

Will probably end up with John Cena

 

The somewhat unfair uphill battle this is gonna face as a Marvel property outside of the MCU is another reason I really want some great casting, tbh.

 

Tom Hardy to Star in ‘Spider-Man’ Spinoff ‘Venom,’ Ruben Fleischer to Direct