A lot of buzz has been going about regarding Sony’s Marvel Universe that is being built on characters with connections to Spider-Man, who is currently with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Contradictory statements from both Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige and Amy Pascal of Sony Pictures seem to indicate minimal connections for the planned Sony films to the MCU, a “one universe, two worlds” scenario. Regarding the Sony Spider-movies, the first up for production is “Venom” starring Tom Hardy, about Spider-Man’s worst and most similar foe/ally. After some time of no further information other than it exists, a recent scoop has sounded out two additions for the movie: a director behind the camera, and an antagonist in front of it.
‘Maximum Carnage’
The Hollywood Reporter recently covered a feature on current Sony Pictures boss Tom Rothman, and the sequence of events and deals made between Sony, film rights holders of Spider-Man, and Marvel Studios, that led to the wall-crawling hero appearing in the MCU. It also mentioned details about the in-production “Venom," the first installment of the new Sony Marvel Universe. There is speculation on whether or not Spider-Man (Tom Holland) would reprise his MCU role for the full-Sony productions. Finally, the feature dropped hints that the villain for “Venom” will be the character called Carnage.
This comes off as rather appropriate. Just as Venom came about directly due to Spider-Man, so did Carnage spring from Venom.
To summarize, in the comics Spider-Man gained a black costume that was actually a symbiotic alien parasite. He rid himself of it only for the alien to bond to Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy’s character). Brock is a newsman whose antagonism towards the wall-crawler made him bond easily with the vengeful parasite to form Venom. While Spidey and Venom eventually became uneasy allies, the symbiotic alien spawned an offspring that bonded with a psychotic serial killer named Kletus Cassidy, creating the monstrous Carnage.
Director confirmed
The super-villain Carnage first appeared in Spider-Man comics in 1992, and has been present on and off across Marvel titles since then. While the issue of Spider-Man appearing in the “Venom” film is up in the air, having the antagonist be a derivative of Tom Hardy’s anti-heroic lead role makes for a good compromise.
Speaking of the movie, confirmation has come that it will be helmed by “Zombieland” director Ruben Fletcher, who was negotiating with Sony before the announcement came.
“Venom”, with Hardy as the eponymous character and written by Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, will begin filming this September to premiere October 5 next year. It will be followed in the Sony Marvel Universe by “Silver and Black”, featuring Spider-franchise characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.
