Sony Tastes ‘Venom’

With superhero movies making serious bank this summer, it’s no surprise that studios are snatching up comic book properties left and right. When a second-tier superhero like Iron Man can ring up $300 million in domestic receipts alone you knew a gold rush was going to be on. How else can you explain the possibility of Spiderman doppelganger/nemesis Venom possibly getting its own film?

For those of you who smartly avoided the bloated train wreck that was Spider-Man 3, Venom popped up briefly as the excessive third villain (but first in the hearts of geeks). The character is an alien creature of gooey proportions that seeks out symbiotic relations, accentuating the more evil qualities of its host. The baddie has long been a fan favorite since its first appearance in 1984.

Sony is actively developing the spinoff with Jacob Estes working on the script. You may remember Estes’ as the writer of the forgettable Stand by Me ripoff Mean Creek from 2004. This doesn’t instill me with much confidence that he can pull off a film of this size. Another major question mark is the casting of the titular symbiote. Topher Grace played the character’s host vessel Eddie Brock in Spidey 3, but Sony isn’t sold on him carrying a film on his narrow shoulders. And for good reason, the guy has the screen presence of a wounded deer. He’s like a sedated Tobey Maguire. Expect the studio to aggressively pursue a major name from the L.A. talent pool.

While the studio is still eyeing a fourth Spider-Man film for 2011 (and Sam Raimi hinting at his involvement at Comic Con), they understandably don’t want to miss out on the superhero gravy train in the interim. The X-Men series has two spinoffs in the pipeline alone with both standalone Wolverine and Magneto films on the horizon. Marvel itself is developing a synergistic comic movie universe leading towards a mega-showdown in The Avengers tentatively scheduled for 2011 as well.