Sony’s Understanding Of The Character
My biggest fear is that the studio decides to go “avant-garde” here and create its own Venom story that’s different from the source material, i.e. ignoring the symbiote’s history with Peter. If this is the case, we’ll likely be treated to an updated version of 2004’s Catwoman – plus, a plethora of memes to last us an eternity.
One of Venom’s writers is Jeff Pinkner, who was also a co-writer for The Amazing Spider-Man 2. I don’t know about you, but that scares me a little. While the film attempted to do a lot, it ultimately missed the mark on all of its character development. Judging by The Amazing Spider-Man 2, does Pinkner understand the characters? And will he be able to weave them all together into a compelling story? I’m not sure.
Tying into the above, if the Sony email leaks taught us anything, it’s that the studio execs had no idea what they were doing. Marvel Studio’s president, Kevin Feige, practically gave them the formula for a great Spidey film and they ignored his advice and cocked it up. Seeing the financial success of other comic book movie universes obviously drives them to put together a franchise quickly, but it needs to be done properly. Pace the universe correctly and don’t try to cut corners to speed it up. Doing so will only cause reboot after reboot – and we’re all tired of seeing Uncle Ben die over and over again.
Life As We Know It
There’s a rumor going around that Daniel Espinosa’s Life might actually be a prequel for Venom. If this is true, it would prove to be a stroke of genius on Sony’s part as it would be completely out of nowhere. Judging by the trailers, it seems entirely plausible and would set-up the symbiote for a future Spider-Man film. This move would not only blow up the Internet, but it would also ignite further interest in Spider-Man: Homecoming.
This sounds like a better plan than a standalone Venom film right now. Only in July will Sony be able to tell if Spider-Man version 3.0 was a worthwhile venture or not. If it is, you’ve already laid a good foundation for the symbiote in a future film. If not, you’ve provided a true fan service by creating a space horror based on one of Marvel’s greatest antiheroes.