Woody Harrelson in talks to join Tom Hardy in Venom

After Venom was woefully mishandled in Sam Raimi's SPIDER-MAN 3, fans have long been waiting for the popular character to receive his due on the big-screen. Their dreams may soon be answered as VENOM already seems quite promising, despite not knowing a heck of a lot about it. Under the direction of Ruben Fleischer, principal photography on VENOM got underway in October, but it's never too late to add someone else to the cast.

Woody Harrelson is in talks to join Tom Hardy in VENOM, and although the details as to which character he would play are sparse, Variety adds that he will play a "henchman of sorts." Seems to me that you don't hire Woody Harrelson to play a mere henchman, but I suppose we'll find out more before too long. In addition to Tom Hardy, VENOM is also set to star Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, and Jenny Slate. Should Woody Harrelson sign on, it would serve as a reunion with director Ruben Fleischer, who directed Harrelson in ZOMBIELAND.

We don't know much about VENOM just yet, but Ruben Fleischer has said that the film is primarily based on two comic book runs: Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes. The former story finds Venom coming to an agreement with Peter Parker in which they will leave each other alone so long as Venom doesn't commit any more crimes. Venom then departs New York City for San Francisco and finds himself battling against five new offspring of the Venom Symbiote. In Planet of the Symbiotes, Eddie Brock finds himself rethinking his relationship with the Venom symbiote and forcing it to leave him, which prompts the symbiote to telepathically summon more symbiotes to Earth.

Woody Harrelson has been quite busy this past year, appearing in LOST IN LONDON, WILSON, WAR FOR THE PLANET OF THE APES, and THREE BILLBOARDS OUTSIDE EBBING, MISSOURI. The actor is also set to appear in SOLO: A STAR WARS STORY as Beckett, a criminal and mentor to Han Solo (Alden Ehrenreich).

VENOM is set for a October 5, 2018 release.