Riz Ahmed, Matt Smith And More In The Running For A Major Role In Venom

Sony’s Marvel Universe is beginning to come together at a brisk clip.

With talk of standalone pics for Kraven and Mysterio, not to mention a spinoff based on Silver Sable and Black Cat from director Gina Prince-Bythewood (Beyond the Lights), the studio has made serious headway on its own Spidey universe in recent weeks, and it all begins with the launch of Ruben Fleischer’s Venom next October. Filming is expected to commence this fall, when Tom Hardy (Dunkirk) will be wrestling with that titular alien symbiote. To date, The Dark Knight Rises actor is the only one to have signed on, but that could be about to change.

We’re learning tonight from The Hollywood Reporter that Rogue One‘s Riz Ahmed is in talks to play a “major Marvel character” in the film. Apparently, it’s not Carnage, and from what we understand, a few other actors are also in the running, including Matt Smith, Pedro Pascal and Mathias Schoenarts. It’s not known who the top choice is, but all of these individuals are tremendously talented and would each bring something unique to the project. In other words, we’d be happy to see any of them climb on board.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Venom was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, and made his first, full appearance in The Amazing Spider-Man #300 in 1988. He’s 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 we know that 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.