With Sony’s Venom solo movie gearing up to start filming at the end of this month, more news is leaking out about the project that will serve to launch a Spider-Man spinoff universe. Alongside Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, we’ve recently learned that the likes of Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed and Jenny Slate will also have roles. And, if this new report is to be believed, we might just know what the movie’s plot will be.
According to Omega Underground, Venom will based off 1993’s six-issue comic book series Lethal Protector. The site’s evidence for this includes the fact they’ve uncovered that the production will move to San Francisco for a period of time, which is where the aforementioned storyline is set. Furthermore, OU reports that the film is recruiting actors to play a mercenary task force, which sounds like The Jury, a team of mercs that are after Venom in the comic.Â
Lethal Protector was also the character’s first ever solo series, which would make it the natural pick for his first solo movie, too. Most notably, it saw Eddie Brock attempt to redeem himself for his past crimes, even burying the hatchet with Spider-Man and moving from New York to San Francisco. However, the father of one of his victims hires The Jury to kill him. The story also introduces five new symbiote villains for Venom to fight: Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher and Agony.
With the exception of Spider-Man and a few other details (The Jury are decked out in Stark weaponry in the comics, for instance), Lethal Protector does seem to offer everything Sony would want from Venom. It would introduce him as an anti-hero rather than a villain and would immediately set up a shed-load of symbiotes. After all, without Peter Parker on board, the film will have to build a mythology around Venom to fuel several future movies.
This isn’t the first time that we’ve heard Sony will be looking to introduce more symbiotes into the pic, either. Riz Ahmed was previously reported to be playing Brock’s nemesis/kind of son Carnage. Likewise, Michelle Williams could be portraying Eddie’s ex-wife Ann Weying, who becomes She-Venom.
If all this is true, fans can expect Venom to be a very busy movie when it swings into cinemas on October 5th, 2018.
