Sony Pictures at long last unveiledthe firstVenomtrailertoday, and because until now we’ve only seen one official image fromthe film, we went through the trailer frame-by-frame and grabbed a handful ofVenommovie images for a closer look. Sony has been trying to bring the comics character to the screen in his own movie for quite some time now, after first testing the waters inSpider-Man 3. There was a grand plan for aVenommovie to connect toThe Amazing Spider-Manfranchise, withThe MummydirectorAlex Kurtzmanwriting and directing, but those plans were scuttled afterThe Amazing Spider-Man 2.
But Sony didn’t give up, and they enlistedZombielandandGangster SquadfilmmakerRuben Fleischerto direct a new iteration of that project. There’s been some audience confusion about how this fits in with Sony’s Marvel Studios-producedSpider-Man: Homecoming, with that film’s producers maintaining that whileHomecomingtakes place in the MCU as per the Marvel/Sony deal, Sony’s non-Marvel-produced films likeVenomand the upcomingSilver & Blackdonottake place in the MCU, and thus cannot feature a cameo fromTom Holland’s Peter Parker. Butrumorsrecently surfaced to the contrary, so perhaps Marvel Studios and Sony worked out a further deal after all.
There’s certainly no Spider-Man in this teaser trailer, and there’s no Venom either. Indeed, we do not see the titular comics character in this initial teaser, as it instead focuses onTom Hardy’s struggle with the symbiote inside of him. But we do get plenty of looks at Hardy seemingly losing his mind, as well as first looks at characters played byMichelle Williams,Riz Ahmed, andReid Scott. Ahmed looks to be portraying the villain of sorts, a businessman or wealthy scientist looking to profit off the captured alien symbiote—until it attaches itself to Hardy, making him the most valuable man in the world. At least that’s my guess from what we saw in the trailer.
Perhaps there’s more in this trailer than meets the eye, so if you caught any sly comics nods, definitely point them out in the comments. As we await a full trailer release later this year, check out a fewVenommovie images below. The film opens in theaters on October 5th.
Here’s the official logline forVenom:
One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass characters comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award® nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector Venom.
