New Venom Plot Details Paint A Worrying Picture

Sony’s Venom pic has long been an unknown quantity. On the plus side, it’s got Tom Hardy in the lead role, a great supporting cast and a solid director in Ruben Fleischer. On the negative side, there was a rather uninspiring trailer that was notably symbiote-free and now, a deeply worrying set of plot spoilers. Bear in mind that these are unconfirmed, but they do tally with some of what we know happens in the film.

First and foremost it seems as if the character of Eddie Brock is going to be quite different to what comic fans are familiar with. The leak says that the pic opens with Brock released from prison on early parole, meeting up with his wife (played by Michelle Williams) and daughter with whom he’s destined to have a fractious relationship.

Said family is apparently the reason he gets attached the symbiote in the first place. Upon encountering his daughter, Brock is distraught when she doesn’t recognize him, proceeding to go on a booze-fuelled bender and pass out in the woods (we’ve all been there, mate). Then, in what sounds like a pretty ludicrous coincidence, an alien spaceship happens to crash next to him containing the symbiote, which quickly bonds to his flesh. The military arrives to quarantine the crash site, capturing Brock and taking him into custody.

Once there (presumably in the Life Foundation), the scientists experiment on him. It doesn’t go well for them, though. The symbiote manifests and wreaks bloody havoc, sending tendrils off Brock that take out the guards and allow the new Venom to escape into San Francisco. Meanwhile, another symbiote has secretly bonded with a scientist, who dies, but the symbiote remains hidden in his body.

Brock struggles to contain his new powers, which manifest as black veins all over him, and there’s also a car chase sequence. His plans for freedom are curtailed when the government kidnaps his family (quelle surprise), forcing him back into custody where he finds a third symbiote in containment. This kicks off the final sequence, where what looks like the classic costume finally envelopes Eddie. Cue a knock-down battle with the other symbiote for supremacy.

Finally, there will apparently be a sequel teaser where that second symbiote returns and is probably Carnage. To find out more, tune in in 2021 for Venom 2: Electric Boogaloo.

Honestly, it doesn’t sound great. The most obvious problem is that we don’t get to see Venom as we know him until the finale (which at least explains why he wasn’t in the trailer). The fact that Brock gets repeatedly captured throughout the film seems extremely repetitive too, as does the silly way he first encounters the symbiote.

I really hope this is all scuttlebutt, and I’m sure even with material this shaky Tom Hardy will knock it out of the park. Still, let’s just say I’m officially Venom-skeptic until I hear otherwise.