Sony Pictures is set to revive the Venom franchise with a bold new film. The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Sony is developing an animated film about Venom, and industry expert Daniel Richtman later reported on X that Sony is aiming for an R rating. The project will be directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, who recently directed the hit horror film. Final Destination: Bloodlines. As with Venom’s live-action films, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will produce this animated film alongside Tom Hardy.
With this project, Sony continues to focus on animated Marvel films after the success of the Spider-Verse films. Since each of these features took four to five years to develop, it will be a while before we see the Lethal Protector on the big screen again.
It’s still too early to tell if this Venom movie will be successful. Still, there’s a good chance it will triumph over live-action films, as an R-rated animated film would offer a darker, edgier story and imagery that would be much better suited to the character.
An R rating could result in a much deadlier protector
All of Tom Hardy’s Venom films were rated PG-13, which withheld much of the darkness, violence, and body horror that they could have derived from the comic book source material. The films failed to capture the true horror of an alien force infecting people’s bodies and forcing them to hurt and even eat humans.
Sure, we got some footage of Venom biting people’s heads off in the movies, but the character’s goofy, comedic antics made it hard for us to take him seriously. The level of horror, violence and gore he could have unleashed with an R rating would have helped differentiate his character from Spider-Man. It would also have been the perfect way to differentiate the Venom franchise from the milder Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Not long before Poison premiered, we saw it Dead Pool And Logan These gruesome R-rated comic book movies could score big at the box office. Although the win was proof of that, Sony downgraded the Venom franchise to a PG-13 rating, which seemed like a missed opportunity for the filmmakers to do something new with such a beloved character.
The animation would be incredible to watch
At this point, it’s unclear what Sony’s new Venom film will look like. Given the studio’s recent slate of animated films, it will likely feature the recurring style pioneered by Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. This 2018 film gained widespread acclaim for its vibrant, comic-book-inspired imagery, which earned it the Academy Award for Best Animated Film. If this worked for Spidey, it would certainly work for Venom too.
As live-action comic book adaptations continue to permeate pop culture, an animated Venom film should provide a fresher experience for moviegoers craving something new. We haven’t seen a bloody, violent superhero movie presented in the Spider-Verse’s visual style. By combining this animation with Venom’s chaotic, shape-shifting action, Sony could give us a particularly eye-catching film that goes far beyond anything seen in the Spider-Verse series.
We might get a weirder Venom this time
It’s unclear whether the new Venom film will be part of Sony’s Spider-Man universe. Sony announced plans to reboot its cinematic universe after the disastrous performance of Morbius, Madam WebAnd Kraven the Hunter. If the animated Venom film is part of this new status quo, we could see a more faithful adaptation of Venom’s origin story, with Spider-Man playing a significant role.
In the comics, Venom is the result of journalist Eddie Brock’s connection with Spider-Man’s abandoned alien costume, creating a fearsome villain hell-bent on exacting revenge on the hero for accidentally firing him. But Hardy’s version of Venom has no connection to Spider-Man and his alien character lacks the white spider emblem he inherited from the web-slinger.
With Sony back to square one, the studio has a chance to return to Venom’s darker roots. However, we’ve already seen how Eddie became Brock in Evil Venom Spider Man 3So we don’t need a retelling of his origins in the film. How Spider-Man: Homecoming or The Fantastic Four: Getting Startedlets skim the backstory and follow Eddie long after he became Venom and met Spider-Man.
The web-slinger doesn’t have to play a big role in the film to be successful. However, after years of preparation, Sony failed to deliver a Spider-Man/Venom crossover starring Hardy. Even when Eddie decided to set out to find Spider-Man, his plans were all but forgotten Venom: The Last Dancemaking it a lackluster conclusion to the franchise. To regain fans’ goodwill, Sony should make good on its promise and finally bring the stories of Venom and Spider-Man together.
With this animated project on the way, presenting it as an R-rated film is the perfect way for Sony to revive its successful Venom franchise. Audiences would see a darker, crueler Venom, closer to the character that won fans over in the comics. Combine that with Spider-Verse’s animation style and we would have a unique and electrifying film. With Sony hitting the reset button on its Spider-Man universe, this new approach could help get the Venom franchise back on track.
