Tom Hardy doesn’t just have a starring role in the upcoming Venom movie – he has two. While the difference between, say, Superman and Clark Kent, or Peter Parker and Spider-Man is just one tight-fitting costume, Eddie Brock and the symbiote that gives him his powers are two separate beings who have to learn to get along, hence the oft-quoted line from the trailer being “We are Venom,” as opposed to “I am Venom.”
Needless to say, it’s a complicated relationship that could give Bruce Banner and the Hulk a run for their money. Speaking at the San Diego Comic-Con, director Ruben Fleischer elaborated a little on how this strange dynamic will work, saying:
“As you know, as a fan of the character, Eddie Brock and Venom is a unique character within the universe because it’s not just a singular experience. It’s not like there’s a guy who gets imbued with powers or makes his own suit and the becomes a vigilante or he’s not an alien that comes to earth and has super powers. In our movie, or in the comics, it’s about the union of these two different parts to create a whole.”
While this dual role sounds like a challenging feat for any actor to pull off, Fleischer reports that Hardy performed his duties swimmingly, telling us:
“There’s a symbiote and then there’s Eddie Brock. There’s a relationship. That’s what Tom did so amazingly well, was to play these two characters simultaneously. That was, as a director, just exhilarating to watch someone with the capability that he has managed the two characters that he has in his head.”
Speaking of heads, the director also alluded to one grotesque clip that fans were treated to at the movie’s Hall H presentation while making the case that his film will distinguish itself from other Marvel adaptations thanks to its darker tone and copious levels of violence.
“That’s the plan. It is not the plan, that’s the movie. Our movie wants to honor the comics as close as we can tonally. In the comics, he bites people’s heads off and eats brains. It would be weird to make a movie with Venom if he wasn’t doing that. We tried to honor it as closely as possible. This is definitely a darker, more violent, more vicious Marvel character than I think anyone’s ever seen before.”
Expect the two sides of Tom Hardy to wreak havoc when Venom lands in cinemas later this year, on October 5th.
