Sony is keeping their upcoming film VENOM, based on the Marvel Comics villain/anti-hero, tightly under wraps. They haven't even provided an official synopsis for it, and the official still they released just showed star Tom Hardy standing on set, holding a notepad. It's somewhat understandable that we haven't seen any hint of what Hardy will look like once he's coated in an alien symbiote and becomes the title character, since that look will be realized through CG effects that Hardy did a mo-cap performance for, but still… they're being very stingy.
The studio continues to be stingy in the just-released teaser trailer. If you're hoping to see Venom in the VENOM teaser, you should put away those expectations right now. What you will get are shots of Hardy dealing with a medical issue, a narration that lets us know how Hardy will sound as his character Eddie Brock, and hints of how the film will give Venom an origin story without involving Spider-Man.
As comics fans know, the symbiote was originally a costume that was being worn by Spider-Man before it started causing him trouble. Spidey ditched it, the symbiote attached itself to Eddie Brock, and Venom was born. Here it looks like the symbiote arrives on Earth on some kind of crashed spacecraft and is acquired by an organization that is sure to do ill-advised things with it.
Directed by ZOMBIELAND's Ruben Fleischer from a screenplay by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinkner, and Kelly Marcel, VENOM is said to be based on two storylines from the comic books, Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes.
In Lethal Protector, set in San Francisco like the movie is, Venom battles
five new offspring of the Venom Symbiote: Scream, Phage, Riot, Lasher, and Agony.
In Planet of the Symbiotes,
Earth is invaded by an army of symbiotes.
Hardy's co-stars in the film include Michelle Williams as Eddie's wife Annie Weying, Riz Ahmed as the symbiote-studying Dr. Carlton Drake, Jenny Slate as "a scientist", Woody Harrelson as "a henchman of sorts", and Reid Scott as a mystery character.
VENOM is scheduled to reach theatres on October 5th.