Marvel Officially Sets Up a Redemption Arc for Tom Hardy’s Venom Era

Like all else in Sony’s Spider-Man spin-off universe, there is little that is faithfully adapted from the comic book source material regarding the Venom movies, particularly their depictions of Eddie Brock and the black symbiote he bonds with. It is obviously left to personal preference whether or not someone enjoys them, but they are brazenly inaccurate in terms of adapting the actual origins of how Eddie and the symbiote met, and that is seemingly all because Venom was contractually unable to feature a Spider-Man.

Now, an animated Venom movie is reportedly in development from Sony, directed by Final Destination: Bloodlines’ Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, with Tom Hardy possibly involved. Animation is certainly a great choice for this new project, following the golden path that Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse has paved, and it will hopefully be an opportunity to reinterpret the character faithfully, even if that means eschewing Tom Hardy’s Venom trilogy entirely.

Venom’s New Movie is a Blank Canvas

On a fundamental level, Venom arguably cannot exist independently of Spider-Man. It is the relationship that Peter Parker has with the symbiote before abandoning it that makes Eddie’s relationship with it so remarkable, especially considering how Eddie and the symbiote simultaneously happen to loathe Spider-Man.

Ironically, the only time we have seen Venom’s origin story somewhat faithfully depicted was in Spider-Man 3, wherein Eddie and the symbiote are terribly rushed in the threequel’s third act.

If this movie tells a new, original origin story that once again does not include Spider-Man as a crucial character, then perhaps it is intended to be Sony’s mulligan on the Venom franchise. We know now that Sony is rebooting its Spider-Man spin-off universe, and this could be Sony’s way of retconning the Venom trilogy and starting over.

Of course, one way to circumvent the vital need for a Spider-Man to be featured is to not ascribe an origin story treatment to this animated movie. This way, Venom can already be established as Venom, no matter if he is the Lethal Protector or a horrific villain rampaging through New York City and consuming poor passersby while they’re out on a late-night jog in Central Park.

Please Be Brutal, Not Funny

Tom Hardy’s Venom movies lean into humorousness more than anything else, and that can be alarming. If Final Destination: Bloodlines is anything to go by, it is possible that this animated movie will be comparably campy and full of gratuitous gore.

That said, Final Destination: Bloodlines is a horror movie, and a horror-leaning tone could be fairly special for an animated Venom movie. In fact, with the Venom trilogy already being so comedic, it would be wise for this animated movie to distance itself from it with a striking tone that at least strives to avoid the same brand of slapstick comedy.

A Venom horror movie wouldn’t be completely out of the realm of possibility. However, it would depend on how sinister or frightening Venom is allowed to be, ensuring that he or other symbiotes could wreak havoc and be a haunting menace, rather than a big, wisecracking buffoon.

It would be fantastic to see Eddie Brock’s psyche illustrated in Spider-Verse-like animation. Moreover, Spider-Man having a significant role could be a huge draw for the movie, and experiencing the whole story from Eddie and the symbiote’s unique perspectives would be terrific, potentially with Spider-Man being perceived as a main antagonist.

The temptation to pursue the same tone and animation style as Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will surely be great, also. These Spider-Verse movies are fairly uncontested as Sony’s best Marvel projects since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy, for instance, and more would probably be the merrier.

It Will Be a Boon Following Spider-Verse

It’s fantastic that the Venom trilogy won’t be the last we see of Venom theatrically, and the choice to have this new project be an animated movie is inspired. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse have basically rewrote the book on how brilliant animated movies can be, both in art and narrative direction, and it is unquestionable that an animated Venom movie could look leagues greater than Venom being designed purely via CGI.

Sony could be as unabashed as possible and even find a way to hurl Venom into the Spider-Verse franchise to truly ensure its popularity, as opposed to debuting a new Venom iteration in a spin-off movie that merely echoes what was done in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. Assuming it will be released after Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, maybe Venom could even make an introductory cameo in the final Spider-Verse movie before he subsequently appears in his own movie.

If nothing else, what this animated movie should be able to accomplish with whatever art style it chooses should theoretically be more exciting and interesting. Meanwhile, it will be fascinating to hear more details about this movie and its interpretation of Venom when they are officially shared.