Venom might be set apart from the wider world of Spider-Man, and it’s certainly not part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but it’ll still have comic book nods and references to please fans and hint that it’s part of a bigger franchise. Just don’t expect Tom Holland to show up as Peter Parker.
While speaking to ScreenRant, director Ruben Fleischer outlined a number of easter eggs that can be glimpsed in the movie. To start with, the filmmaker explained that Venom will pay homage to the people that created the character: namely, Randy Schuller – the fan who devised the concept – and artist Todd McFarlane and writer David Michelinie.
“The name of the building he lives in is called the Schuller building. Randy Schuller is the name is the fan who suggested the black suit for Spider-Man. There’s this famous story where he got $50 for suggesting the black suit and that’s what spawned the Venom origin. The law firm that Anne Weying works for is Michelinie & McFarlane.”
Fleischer then went on to add that there’s an intriguing callback to an important part of Eddie’s classic origins story in the film. The downward spiral that led to him becoming Venom on the page was initially set off by Spider-Man inadvertently getting Brock fired from The Daily Globe. While this storyline obviously won’t be emulated in Venom, it features a brief reference to it all the same.
“Eddie’s texting somebody at one point, can I get a job, and that’s the editor of the Daily Globe, Barney Bushkin. We tried to weave them in. Even just trying to acknowledge his backstory in New York for fans of the comics. There was a scandal with Eddie Brock. He tried to expose the Sin-Eater and that lead to his demise and being fired from his newspaper so we didn’t say it directly, that was a nod to the comics.”
Veering into spoiler territory, Venom will likely have some more significant connections to the Marvel comics universe as well. In particular, the inclusion of a whole bunch of other symbiotes, including Riz Ahmed becoming Riot, as teased by the trailers. Obviously, the one we’re all expecting is Carnage, but the promotional campaign’s keeping a lid on him. That is, if he’s even in the movie. One way or another, though, we’ll find out when it slithers into theaters on October 5th.
