With Monday’s debut of the Venom trailer, we’re finally coming face to face with Marvel’s long-awaited anti-hero and his incredible costume. The complex character is finally being rewarded with a well-deserved backstory.
Set in San Francisco, Venom tells the story of Eddie Brock, a reporter investigating the Life Foundation and the research it performs with alien creatures called “symbiotes.” The foundation believes that the symbiotes hold the key to unlocking the potential for human evolution. But in the process of his research, Brock becomes infected by one of the symbiotes, which morphs him into Venom.
In this psychological thriller, Brock struggles as a host to the symbiote as it functions within him for its (their?) own gain. In the process, he unleashes power beyond his wildest dreams. He is able to fend off his enemies effortlessly, but it comes at the cost of his own free will.
Stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, and director Ruben Fleischer introduced the clip at CinemaCon on Monday. Hardy told the audience that part of the reason he took on the starring role was that he wanted to do a movie his son could watch.
“I happen to love superhero movies and I wanted to do one whether you believe it or not,” Williams, who plays Brock’s romantic interest, said. “It wasn’t right until now and I didn’t want to play a damsel in distress.”
Just like Sony’s other comic book movies, Venom won’t directly connect with the Marvel Cinematic Universe. We also won’t be seeing Tom Holland of Spider-Man: Homecoming swooping in to save the day at any point, but there is room for a potential crossover in the future.
The film is scheduled for an October 5 release. In the meantime, check out the trailer above—and embrace the dark side that comes with it.
