During the past decade, Sony Pictures made repeated attempts to make a standalone movie for iconic Marvel Comics character Venom. Now, they’ve finally announced a release date for the long-gestating project via The Hollywood Reporter.
The Spider-Man spin-off movie will roll into theaters on October 5, 2018. The Girl in the Spider's Web, which is the sequel to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, was previously set to be released on that date, but they’ve pushed it back to October 19, 2018. The DC Extended Universe's Aquaman was also scheduled for release on October 5, but Warner Bros. moved it to December 18, 2018 hours before Sony made their announcement.
At the moment, Venom lacks a director, but it definitely has a script, penned by Scott Rosenberg (Pain and Gain) and Jeff Pinkner (The Amazing Spider-Man 2). The two recently worked on the script of the upcoming Dwayne Johnson/Kevin Hart starrer Jumanji. Alien: Covenant scribe Dante Harper wrote an initial draft of the Venom script.
Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, both of whom were involved in Sony's previous Spider-Man movies, are overseeing the project. They are also attached as producers, along with Amy Pascal.
It’s still unclear whether Venom will join Tom Holland’s Spider-Man as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Considering the fact that no one from Marvel Studios is connected with the project, it appears that Sony isn't planning to link the movie or the character to the MCU just yet.
In the comic books, Venom is a Symbiote, or an amorphous extraterrestrial parasite that usually bonds with a human host to enhance its powers. While Peter Parker was the first to host a symbiote, they later merged with other hosts that included Eddie Brock, Mac Gargan, and Flash Thompson. Venom was originally introduced as a supervillain, but he later evolved into an anti-hero.
