Sony's taking the popularity of Tom Holland's Spider-Man and launching a bunch of spinoffs that won't be part of the MCU. It's a confusing mess made more confusing by statements made by Sony's Amy Pascal, so it's best to just look at the films themselves. The whole thing will be kicked off in a big way with Venom, which has Tom Hardy as the alien symbiote antihero with Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) directing. And now it looks like Hardy is close to getting some company.
Variety reports that Rogue One star Riz Ahmed is in talks to take on a "popular" Marvel Comics character in the film. Meanwhile, the trade's Justin Kroll adds that Matthias Schoenaerts (Rust and Bone), Matt Smith (Terminator Genisys), and Pedro Pascal (Game of Thrones) are in the mix for the same role. THR makes it clear the role is NOT for Carnage, Venom's primary rival other than Spider-Man. Carnage is being cast in the film, however.
So who might this character be? Venom's gallery of rogues isn't as deep as Spider-Man's, and we should probably stop assuming it'll be a villain. I'm not as up on my Venom lore as other Marvel characters so if you have ideas let me know!
Venom will hit theaters on October 5th 2018.
