Venom: What We Know So Far

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Ever since Spider-Man 3's release, Sony Pictures has had a Venom movie in some form of development. The project came close to getting off the ground when the Amazing Spider-Man series was planning to expand, but after those plans collapsed, it seemed like Venom was once again on ice. Then 2017 happened, and seemingly out of nowhere, Sony announced that it was fast-tracking a Venom movie after a year of no updates.

Now Venom joins the growing ranks of superhero movies that turn the tables and focus on villains/anti-heroes, like The Punisher, Suicide Squad, Black Adam, Gotham City Sirens and the Doctor Doom movie. It also sounds like Sony is taking extra care to deliver a Venom to audiences this year who is more faithful to the source material, though there will be several key differences between this new live-action iteration and his comic book counterpart. With Venom looking like it will be one of the more intriguing blockbusters of 2018, here are all the important details that have been released about the project so far. Let's start with the most recent, intrigue-filled trailer, shall we?

Whoa! While the first trailer didn't actually show us even a hint of Tom Hardy as Venom, this one not only answers some story questions, but finally gives fans a full look at the supervillain/anti-hero. Now, let's move on to all the info we've been able to gather about the film!

Venom comics
What Is Venom's Release Date?
Venom will be released in theaters on October 5, 2018. This is an odd month to release a superhero film, but as Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Logan and others have taught us, a movie in this genre doesn't have to be released in the summer or the November/December season for it to be successful. Plus, since Venom is intended to feel more like a horror movie than a straightforward superhero flick, releasing it outside the usual blockbuster season may help it stand out even more. Currently, Venom doesn't have any competition on that opening weekend, but that will eventually change, though it will almost certainly remain the most prominent release of the bunch.

Venom comics
What Is Venom's Rating?
As mentioned earlier, Venom will have a horror tilt, which is fitting since Venom is one of the scarier Marvel comics villains. With extra frights comes extra violence, and when paired together, they usually equal an R rating. It will be a while until Venom's rating is officially provided by the MPAA, but director Ruben Fleischer has said he wants the movie to comfortably rest in that adult territory. Thanks to Deadpool and Logan's success, there seems to be more willingness to put mainstream superhero characters in R rated movies, and since this version of Venom won't be used as a villain in a Spider-Man movie, Sony has more freedom to double down on his scarier traits and violent tendencies.

Ruben Fleischer
Venom's Director
Ruben Fleischer is taking the reins on Venom, and he has plenty of experience in both the horror and action realms. Fleischer is best known for directing the horror comedy Zombieland, which came out two years before The Walking Dead TV series hit the scene. In 2011, he reunited with Jesse Eisenberg to direct 30 Minutes or Less, and two years later he helmed Gangster Squad. Venom marks Fleischer's first feature-length directorial project since Gangster Squad, but he's also been keeping himself busy on television by executive producing and directing episodes of Superstore, American Housewife and The Santa Clarita Diet. If Fleischer can pull off the same kind of unique genre melding with Venom that he did with Zombieland, then this will be a movie that can be enjoyed just as much by comic book fans as by horror fans. Fleischer has also said that Venom will be inspired by the works of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter.