In what’s shaping up to be a busy week for the Sony-backed spinoff, a smattering of Venom set photos have emerged onto the interwebs, and it seems as though Tom Hardy (Eddie Brock)Â has had a run-in with the famous alien symbiote.
First spotted by Just Jared, these photos show Hardy wrestling with an unseen foe – remember, Brock’s alter-ego will be created by motion-capture CGI – after on-set photographers confirmed that the British thesp appeared to be battling for control of his body. No prizes for guessing who – or rather what – is responsible for Eddie Brock’s dilemma.
Moreover, it’s impossible to wean any story clues from this batch of photos alone, but the fact that Tom Hardy is dressed down in civvies indicates that his Eddie Brock won’t encounter the symbiote at the outset; rather, director Ruben Fleischer has likely filmed his Venom movie in such a way that the 2018 actioner focuses on Eddie first and the titular symbiote later. And at least based on last night’s findings, the sinister CGI design for Venom will absolutely be worth the wait.
As for the story underpinning Venom’s solo outing, both Hardy and Fleischer have been dropping clues all throughout development, including how their spinoff movie lifts inspiration from Planet of the Symbiotes. First published in ’95, its story will seemingly be fused with that of Lethal Protector, which has also been name-dropped as a catalyst for the big-screen adaptation, one written by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner and Kelly Marcel.
Venom has been shooting across parts of New York and Atlanta since October, which surely means that the Ruben Fleischer-directed standalone pic is close to the finish line. An October 5th, 2018 release date is on the cards, so don’t be too surprised if Sony decides to unleash an official promo – be it a fleeting teaser or Entertainment Weekly cover story – soon after 2017 draws to a close.
