With the folks at Sony and writer/director/producer Alex Kurtzman currently prepping a Venom movie as part of the expanding Amazing Spider-Man universe, it's only a matter of time before we start hearing casting rumors about who is being considered to star. It's not entirely clear when this will happen, and at this stage we don't even know necessarily which version of the goopy alien symboite we will see - but that's not stopping one of the WWE's wrestlers from throwing his hat in the ring as a candidate for the part.
In an interview with Irish Central, Stephen Farrelly - better known to wrestling fans as the redheaded Sheamus - has revealed not only that he has some ambitious plans to get into acting, but also that he already knows exactly what comic book character he would like to play. Discussing his future career goals, which would include working alongside actors like Michael Fassbender, Robert Downey Jr. and Hugh Jackman, the wrestler noted that he has long been a fan of the Venom character in Marvel Comics and would cherish the opportunity to portray it on the big screen. Said Farrelly,
"I always read comic books as a kid, I always remember Eddie Brock, who was Venom in the Spider-Man comics. He was kind of a red head. I'd love to play the role of Venom and Eddie Brock. Venom was one of my favorite characters. It would be a dream come true for me to star in the next Spider-Man film as Venom."
Recent moves in the comic book world haven't exactly dismissed this idea as a complete impossibility. In just the last few months we've seen wrestler-turned-actor Dave Bautista absolutely kill it playing Drax The Destroyer in James Gunn's Guardians of the Galaxy, and Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson - who made the aforementioned transition years ago, is now signed on to play Black Adam in DC Comics' Shazam movie. That being said, it's a bit hard to imagine that Sony would be willing to give the starring role in a huge blockbuster like Venom to a guy who doesn't have a ton of professional acting experience. But who knows? Maybe if he doesn't play Eddie Brock there could be an opportunity somewhere down the line for him to be the big screen version of Mac Gargan. You never know.
On top of all that, there's the possibility that Venom might not even happen at all. Unlike Marvel Studios or Warner Bros./DC, Sony has not laid out a fully detailed plan for their future comic book movies, and rumors have suggested that the project may be in very real trouble.
(Photo by: Ethan Miller/USA Network)
