Sony Spins a Web for a Stand Alone Venom Film

Posted by Adam Sweeney (adam@filmschoolrejects.com) on August 1, 2008

Maybe the biggest disaster in Spider-Man 3, aside from Tobey Maguire’s dance moves, was the decision to kill off fan favorite Venom. Now Sony may be ready to bring him back in his own project.

Following the monumental success of the Joker in The Dark Knight, Sony is developing a project based on the alien symbiote/Eddie Brock duo. The hopes are to kill two birds with one stone by creating a new franchise while also reviving a comatose Spider-Man series. (Thanks a lot, Sam Raimi.)

But Sony is learning that it’s a tangled web when it comes to weaving a film about a villain, particularly a relatively simple character like Venom. The studio asked Jacob Estes, writer of Mean Creek, to deliver a draft but were unimpressed with his script. They are considering going in a different direction and now seem to be looking for new writers.

They also may be considering other actors than Topher Grace, unconvinced that he can carry the weight of Venom’s role as the main character.

I personally love Venom and felt all of his fans were ripped off because Raimi hates the character. I also thought Grace was one of the only actors not sleepwalking through his role in Spider-Man 3. I’m cautiously excited about a full-length film with Venom, but his character works best when opposite Spidey.

What do you think? Are you excited about a Venom spinoff?

Read more articles by Adam Sweeney