If you've been paying attention to the world of movies, you'll know that comic book movies are everywhere. With three shared universes currently releasing blockbusters, you can't turn a corner without a new superhero or villain showing up on screen. Sony is currently in the midst of building its own Spider-Man universe, with all eyes on the upcoming Venom movie. Details about Venom are still largely a mystery, although a cryptic first trailer was recently released, breaking the internet in the process. As always writer, director, and comic book aficionado Kevin Smith has watched the new content, and has a strong opinion. He recently said,
I didn't see a Venom trailer. I saw Tom Hardy: The Movie...I think, I mean, I'm all for like, hey we're seeing footage, so it must be real. It's a teaser, but you can't call the movie Venom and not show Venom.
Well, that was honest. Kevin Smith is usually one to champion all comic book projects, but it seems that the Venom trailer hit a sour note. And it's a criticism that has been surrounding the film's first clips.
While the first Venom trailer was tense and gave vague look at the movie's impressive cast, it wasn't clear exactly how the Symbiote antihero would factor into the narrative. All of the action in the trailer shows Tom Hardy playing Eddie Brock, the reporter who eventually merges with the alien substance. Some symbiote material seems to be shown briefly during the trailer, as Riz Ahmed's character procures it from an unknown source. But how it eventually finds Eddie Brock is a mystery, as well as what Venom will look like.
As Kevin Smith said in his podcast Hollywood Babble-On, the complete lack of Venom in the trailer is a point of contention among fans and critics alike. And it's something that seemingly could have been fixed easily. Just seeing one brief glance of the Spider-Man rogue would have worked, similar to the three second clip of the Xenomorph in Alien: Covenant's trailer. Instead, there was no trace of him, and the name Venom doesn't even appear with the credits. It was all purposefully void of the title character.
There are quite a few reasons why Sony chose to keep Venom out of the Venom trailer. Perhaps the most likely is that the visual artists and CGI professionals are still toying with the character's overall look. Trailers are known to contain outdated CGI, like in the first one for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2. But if there are still discussions happening regarding how Venom should look in his first standalone movie, then it stands to reason that footage wouldn't make its way into the first teaser.
Ultimately, footage and information about Venom should be coming as we gear up for the spring season. The film arrives in the fall, so the studio will no doubt want to amp up excitement for its release.
Venom will arrive in theaters October 5, 2018. In the meantime, check out our 2018 release list to plan your next trip to the movies.
