When’s a nemesis not a nemesis? When the hero is nowhere to be seen, of course. Such will be the case for Sony’s Venom movie, starring Tom Hardy – as producer Kevin Feige confirms that Spider-Man will not feature in the project. Obviously, this comment gives rise to many questions – not least surrounding the direction that the narrative of this non-MCU movie is going to take – which has caused much confusion lately.
Feige recently spoke up on the matter at the premiere of Spider-Man: Homecoming, which marks the web-slinger’s first solo film in the hugely successful franchise. The character has hitherto been contained within Sony projects – but now the studio is planning its own series of Spidey-related spinoffs, and according to Feige, they won’t include Peter Parker.
When asked if Spider-Man might swing by for an appearance, the producer said:
“No, I think the folks there are making a great Venom movie though, and I don’t know much about it, but I know they’re off to a good start with Tom Hardy.”
Venom was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, and made his first, full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 in 1988. The character is a black, oil-like substance that requires a host body, and in the movie, Hardy will play Eddie Brock – one of the most famous hosts of all.
The origin story has Brock as a journalist, investigating the identity of a serial killer known as Sin Eater. He soon begins to receive communications from a man named Emil Gregg, who confesses to the murders – and Brock reveals his identity in a piece of reporting. Spider-Man catches the real serial killer, however, and Gregg is revealed to be lying. Brock loses his job and marriage, and becomes obsessed with seeking revenge on the wall-crawler. The Venom Symbiote had previously used Spider-Man as a host, but soon bonds with Brock instead – providing him with superpowers.
This is where the intrigue lies regarding the Venom movie. Eddie Brock’s story is inextricably linked with that of Spider-Man, but the hero won’t be appearing in the film, so what could this narrative possibly contain? Unfortunately, we’re going to have to wait until 2018 to find out, but feel free to start the speculation in the comments section and let us know what you think.