Tom Hardy’s lethal protector has been unleashed. And not a moment too soon.
True to their word, and now that production has officially wrapped, Sony Pictures has today rolled out the wild first teaser trailer for Venom, and we’re starting to buy into those claims that Hardy is about to deliver a superhero performance for the ages.
It’s the actor’s first foray into the realm of costumed crusaders since Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, though it’s fair to say that Venom is a different breed altogether, and up above you’ll see the journey that awaits Eddie Brock. All in all, it’s a pretty intense preview, as we see Tom Hardy’s lead being subjected to a range of experiments before he eventually goes berserk, turning into the lethal protector he was destined to be.
Alas, there’s no sign of the CG-powered symbiote just yet, which isn’t all that surprising given Venom is still six months out from release. However, what you will see is a tantalizing peek at the movie’s all-star ensemble cast, which includes Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, and Woody Harrelson of Solo: A Star Wars Story.
Story-wise, we know Venom is poised to adapt two comic arcs: Planet of the Symbiotes and Lethal Protector. The former fan-favorite first released in ’95, and follows Eddie Brock as he forms an uneasy alliance with Spider-Man in order to clear his name. David Cronenberg (The Fly) and John Carpenter (The Thing), two giants of world cinema, have also been name-dropped in the past, which tells us that Ruben Fleischer has combed through the archives so as to mine inspiration for the film’s body-horror elements.
“We all have our own problems. Our own issues. Our own demons.” Venom claws its way into theaters on October 5th. Other Spider-Man spinoffs currently in the works at Sony include a movie dedicated to Silver & Black (February 2019, perhaps?), along with a live-action rendition of Morbius, the Living Vampire.