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, with industry scooper Daniel Richtman later reporting on X that Sony is aiming or R-rating. The project will be directed by Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, who recently directed the hit horror film, Final Destination: Bloodlines. Like with Venom’s live-action movies, Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach will produce this animated feature alongside Tom Hardy.
With this project, Sony continues to embrace animated Marvel movies after the success of the Spider-Verse films. Since each of these features has taken 4 to 5 years to make, it will be a while before we see the Lethal Protector back on the big screen.
It’s too early to tell whether this Venom film will succeed. Still, chances are it will triumph over live-action movies, as an R-rated animated feature would offer story and visuals that are darker, edgier, and much better suited to the character.
An R-rating could lead to a much more lethal protector
All of Tom Hardy’s Venom movies were rated PG-13, which held back much of the darkness, violence, and body horror that they could’ve drawn from the comic book source material. The films didn’t capture the true horror of an alien force infecting people’s bodies, forcing them to hurt and even eat people.
Sure, we got some shots of Venom biting people’s heads off in the films, 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’ve unleashed with an R-rating would’ve helped distinguish his character from Spider-Man. It would have also been the perfect way to differentiate the Venom franchise from the milder Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Not long before Venom premiered, we saw with Deadpool and Logan that gruesome, R-rated comic book movies could win big at the box office. Though the proof was in the profits, Sony relegated the Venom franchise to a PG-13 rating, which seemed like a missed opportunity for the filmmakers to do something fresh with such a popular 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 achieved great renown for its vibrant, comic-book-inspired visuals, which helped it win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature. If this worked for Spidey, it would surely work for Venom.
Since live-action comic book adaptations continue to permeate pop culture, an animated Venom film should offer a fresher experience for moviegoers aching for something new. We have yet to see a bloody, brutal superhero movie presented in the Spider-Verse’s visual style. By blending this animation with Venom’s chaotic, shape-shifting action, Sony could give us an especially eye-popping movie beyond anything seen in the Spider-Verse franchise.
We could get a more comic-accurate Venom this time
It hasn’t been clarified whether the new Venom movie will be a part of Sony’s Spider-Man Universe. Sony revealed plans to reboot its cinematic universe after the disastrous performance of Morbius, Madame Web, and 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 bonding with Spider-Man’s abandoned alien costume, creating a fearsome villain dead-set on vengeance against the hero for inadvertently getting him fired. But Hardy’s version of Venom has no connection to Spider-Man, and his alien character lacks the white spider emblem inherited from the web-slinger.
As Sony goes back to square one, the studio has the chance to return to Venom’s darker roots. However, we’ve already seen Eddie Brock become the evil Venom in Spider-Man 3, so we don’t need his origins retold on film. Like Spider-Man: Homecoming or The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we can skim the backstory and follow Eddie long after he became Venom and crossed paths with Spider-Man.
The web-slinger doesn’t need to have a huge role in the film for it to succeed. However, Sony failed to deliver a Spider-Man/Venom crossover with Hardy after years of buildup. Even when Eddie decided to go find Spider-Man, his plans were all but forgotten in Venom: The Last Dance, making it a lackluster conclusion to the franchise. To regain fans’ goodwill, Sony should deliver on its promise and finally bring Venom and Spider-Man’s stories together.
With this animated project on the way, presenting it as an R-rated picture is the perfect way for Sony to revitalize its hit Venom franchise. Audiences would see a darker, more gruesome Venom, closer to the character who won over fans in the comics. Combine that with Spider-Verse’s animation style, and we would have a unique and electrifying film. With Sony pushing the reset button on its Spider-Man Universe, this new approach could help get the Venom franchise back on track.