Barring the back-and-forth surrounding the film’s relation to the MCU – or lack thereof – Venom has piqued the curiosity of comic book fans the world over thanks to Sony and Ruben Fleischer’s desire to engineer a dark and potentially R-rated Spider-Man spinoff. There’s someone else though who’s also responsible for much of the intrigue surrounding the pic, and that’d be Dunkirk star Tom Hardy.
In fact, he’s one of the few shining lights in what’s otherwise become a controversial project, one that many fans feel is simply unnecessary. With Hardy on board, however, most people are at least willing to give it a chance and today, some new art has surfaced that paints a pretty interesting picture of how the actor could look as the titular character. It may not be an accurate representation of how he actually appears in the film, of course, but if nothing else, it makes it very clear that Hardy’s the right man for the job.
Not that we ever had any doubts, mind you, as he’s one of the most talented actors of our generation. No matter the role, Hardy is always compelling to watch and brings a level of intensity to his work that not many can match. It’s that intensity, combined with his ability to go completely unhinged – as seen in Bronson – that makes him pretty much the perfect candidate to bring Venom to life on the big screen. And if you don’t agree with that statement, the gallery below (which also includes some previously released fan art) should help you see things our way.
Of course, it’s still hard to ignore the fact that Spider-Man won’t be involved here. Given that this is a Sony Pictures production, and not one that hails from Marvel, Peter Parker won’t factor into things and Venom is going to stand separate from the MCU, instead taking place in Sony’s own Marvel universe. It’s an odd decision, to be sure, and one that has most people feeling a bit apprehensive about the project.
Still, there’s no denying that Tom Hardy is a hugely exciting choice to play the character and given that he’s a tremendously talented individual, we’re able to remain cautiously optimistic that the spinoff will find success, even despite being removed from the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Sony Pictures has a long way to go if it’s to ever compete with Marvel, of course – thanks to Spider-Man: Homecoming‘s blistering success, the MCU is now at $12 billion and counting – but the studio’s own Spidey universe is all set to kick off with the launch of Venom on October 5th, 2018. Other projects in the mix include Silver & Black, along with spinoff movies featuring Kraven and Mysterio.
