If you’ve had enough of heroes, get ready forVenom,the new comic adaptation from Sony Pictures. DirectorRuben Fleischertook the Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con and promised a movie with “no heroes. . “There’s this guy trying to bite people’s heads off and and this guy, who’s an evil megalomaniac trying to take over the world,” Fleischer quipped gesturing to starsTom HardyandRiz Ahmed, who joined him for the panel.
Hardy made his Hall H debut with the panel, explaining that he was drawn to the role of Eddie Brock for two reasons: “I just like the way he looks, first and foremost, and then there’s my son who’s a massive Venom fan.” The actor, who’s known for his dark and rather violent films, wanted to make something his son could watch.
Hardy also explained how the film is handling the character of Brock. “He’s a documentary journalist who falls on hard times and out of favor with his partner and he’s a bit of a loser,” He said. “He’s an anti-hero, so he’ll figure on a goal and he’ll do whatever he has to do to get to that goal, even if he has to do some naughty things to get there…. His ethical structure is off and he’s got no scruples.” But he’s not a bad guys. Hardy added,“He means well, he’s got a truly noble heart.”
But things get notched up a level when he merges with the symbiote Venom. “He kind of finds his perfect opposite partner in his huge great alien beast that arrives and live rent-free in his body,” Hardy said, “and no one will believe him that its there.”
On the other side, we’ve got Ahmed’s Carton Drake, who the actor describes as a genius, billionaire an inventor. “He’s made a lot of breakthroughs in his time, and his foundation, the Life Foundation, is trying to envision what the future of life looks lite because the human race is almost done.” With environmental issues on the rise, Drake thinks the future is in space, so he explores that and that’s where he discovers the symbols. “He’s trying to do right by humanity and save the future,” Ahmed said,“but as they say, to make an omelette you got to break some eggs”
And the footage Fleischer and Co. brought to the con helped illustrate these characters beyond what we learned in the first trailer. In true Tom Hardy tradition, you may’t really understand what the hell Venom is saying, but we got a pretty good look at the antihero in action. First we see Eddie Brock, swaggering through a bodega, where the woman behind the counter tells him “You look like shit.” Well, that’s because he’s got an intergalactic parasite that likes biting people’s heads off. Even more dangerous is the character played by Ahmed, who believes that human beings are expendable, but humans merged with a symbiote are the future of the planet.
The footage focuses significantly on Brock’s struggle with the new alien presence inside of him — and the ways he grows to like it. We see him lying on the floor, attempting meditation, but he keeps flashing to violent visions. When Brock transforms into the beastly creature, he’s got a mean taste for flesh and a mean personality to match, promising to crush a man until he looks like “a legless, faceless turd.” I don’t know a lot of turds with legs or faces, so I’m not totally sold on that line, but still, he’s a rough dude. Venom tells Brock his old life is over, but Brock doesn’t want to hurt people. That’s when Venom and Brock have a face-to-face, and when we see Brock in a broken, life-threatening state, Venom heals him, dark webbing pulling the pieces back together.
Fleischer warend the audience that the visual effects are unfinished, and you could definitely tell in moments, but there were still some pretty good-looking moments of Venom carnage — sorry, not Carnage, the famous Venom big bad, but the footage did reveal Riot, another Venom villain who’s set to battle Brock in the film. This symbiote is a body-hopper, and Fleischer teased ““You never know where Riot’s going to show up.” When we saw him, he’d taken over Carlton Drake, and was ready for quite the showdown with Brock.
Full honestly, this wasn’t my favorite footage I saw today and there’s still reason for skepticism that this film is going to pull off the challenge of a good Venom movie… especially with a potential PG-13 rating and especially without Spider-Man. Speaking of, are we going to see the web-slinger battling Venom anytime soon? Don’t count on it in this movie, but Hardy and Fleischer both teased a possibility for the future, suggesting the studio wants to see it just as much as the fans (but does Marvel Studios? I’m still unconvinced.) “We’re planning a huge world with this Venom story,” Fleischer said, adding that he wants “to explore all of the beloved characters from the universe.”
For more fromSDCC 2018, click the link and stay tuned through the weekend for our continued coverage.
