Is there another comic book movie quite like Venom?
Even if you haven’t been sold by Sony’s dubious marketing push (“like a turd in the wind”), Ruben Fleischer’s Spider-Man spinoff hopes to stand out from the pack with its darker tone, inky-black visuals and that dual performance from Tom Hardy.
At the outset, Hardy is limited to down-on-his-luck reporter Eddie Brock, who begins investigating a shady organization known as the Life Foundation for its cruel and at times horrific human experiments. He soon falls down the rabbit hole of mutated symbiotes and dangerous alien parasites though, ultimately leading to the moment when two become one – on one fateful night, Brock is infected by Venom, and the rest is history.
On paper, it makes for a fascinating character dynamic, as the monstrous Venom – the id, if you will – is directly at odds with Eddie Brock, and previous trailers have already hinted at the inner conflict brewing within Tom Hardy. For this particular photo reveal, though, it’s the alien symbiote who comes out on top:
This demonic close-up comes to us as part of USA Today’s ongoing fall preview, which brought forth a sneak peek at the battle-ready Laurie Strode (Halloween) earlier this afternoon.
When it comes to Venom, though, writer-director Ruben Fleischer offered yet more insight into that fundamental clash between human and symbiote.
In the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde thing, he’s the real Hyde. He’ll rip somebody’s head off and eat their brains. There’s this forbidden-fruit quality of this guy who will just do whatever he wants.
Can it spark the next big superhero universe at Sony? That’s one of the many questions Venom will have to answer on October 5th.