Venom may not feature the version of the character you expect to see

With THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN franchise on hiatus while Sony explores their super-villain spin-offs VENOM and THE SINISTER SIX, the question remains whether these movies can survive without a superhero at their core. Alex Kurtzman, who has been integral to the development of THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN films, will be directing VENOM and will be working with Ed Solomon to script the film. Expectations are high as fans have been waiting for the symbiote-clad villain to be properly portrayed on the big screen.

But, with SPIDER-MAN 3 giving us a lackluster version of the Eddie Brock incarnation of Venom, does that mean Sony is going to try something different for his solo film? In an interview with Spinoff, Kurtzman indicated that Ed Solomon would begin working on the script very soon but played coy as to who will be under the suit.

Yeah, before last Friday came out, we started kind of roughing out a story. Ed Solomon’s going to be writing it very soon. I can’t tell you too much, but I’m really excited about it.

I would not say [picking the incarnation of Venom is] an easy choice. I would say that there are quite a few things about Venom that are interesting. Venom had several different iterations, and there are several things that are very unique, interesting and specific. And so I think we all want to make sure that we’re making the right choices for a character that’s so beloved.

Eddie Brock may be the best known version of Venom, but he also has the most direct link to Spider-man. Brock’s quest for revenge would mean that Andrew Garfield would be critical to telling the story in the right way. But, what if Kurtzman and Solomon elected to go with a different version of Venom? While Harry Osborn, Peter Parker, and Eddie Brock are the most well-known symbiote-wearers, Flash Thompson did as well. In that arc, Thompson loses his legs in the war and the symbiote gives him the ability to walk again. Known as Agent Venom, Thompson can only wear the suit for 48 hours at a time or it will take him over.

Chris Zylka has already played Flash Thompson twice in THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN films and could easily be a candidate to lead VENOM. If they do go with the rumored title of VENOM: CARNAGE, making Thompson more of an anti-hero than an outright villain may make the film more palatable for audiences.

There is no concrete date for VENOM, but expectations have it releasing as soon as 2017. Stay tuned for more details.