On February eighth, Sony Pictures Entertainment released a short teaser trailer for Marvel's 'Venom' and it has since gathered over 12 million views on YouTube. But what is so exciting about this new film, and why is it any different from what we have seen from Marvel before?

Marvel and DC Comics

Marvel and DC Comics are the two titans of the comic book industry. Their success and popularity have allowed them to access the mainstream media and almost become household names for markets around the world. Because of this, the two are often referred to as rivals due to their conflicting themes and styles.

Many people are quick to point out their differentiating styles on how they chose to portray their villains and heroes. Marvel prefers to focus on the 'righteous hero' trope. Sure, there are some exceptions, but when compared with DC - who favor the questionable hero trope - then a clearer divide presents itself.

However, now that the trailer for 'Venom' has been released, we can see that Marvel has started to tap into the darker aspect of their character catalog, and seemingly going against their own style.

The trailer

In the trailer, we get a glimpse at Tom Hardy's portrayal of the protagonist Eddie Brock as he is plagued by the alien life-form - turning him into the titular villain we have come to know.

There is an emphasis placed on the dingy exterior scenes of the city; with locations looking like they have been taken straight out of a gothic horror.

As for the audio, heightened audio stabs serve as jump scares, much like many modern-day horrors like to include; as well as there is an underlying sense of tension in the climactic build-up to the title reveal at the end.

The combination of both visual horror conventions and classic horror tropes seems to suggest that Disney has taken a leaf from DC's cinematic style and have begun taking steps towards focusing on the sinister side of superheroes.

Marvel's future films

Currently in production for Disney is the new 'X-Men' film, named 'The New Mutants' and is set to release in 2019.

Again, the teaser trailer and film poster suggest that Disney is pushing for a sinister tone for their films; which is why we needed the comparison to DC's history.

With Marvel now encroaching on territories that DC has done well to maintain, we may see an elision of themes for all superhero films going into the future. With both Disney and Warner Brothers Entertainment going for the darker themes, the question we have to ask is whether the lack of diversity in the genre will wear away at audiences' desire to watch these sorts of films; or whether we will grow tired of the homogenized film style.

With DC and Marvel productions always being compared to each other, there will inevitably be comparisons drawn between the two again. Just like other productions in the past, we will have to monitor how Marvel and DC fans respond to 'Venom' when it is released.