As the fall season approaches, so does a slimy symbiotic alien, as Venom will soon make its solo debut in early October. While the initial reaction of seeing Venom onscreen without Spider-Man to take him down seemed a bit of a stretch, a lot of superhero fans are getting excited to see the horrifying creature hit theaters. Before it does, the studio released a short clip giving a taste of the relationship between journalist Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) and genius billionaire Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed). Take a look:
The exclusive Venom clip from IGN has Eddie conducting an interview with Carlton that starts lightly as he discusses his passion for space exploration. However, when he gets into some allegations toward the Life Foundation regarding deadly pharmaceutical tests, Carlton and his team are no longer willing to be welcoming. The clip ends with Eddie being shoved away from Carlton as he asks him if he's being threatened, and Carlton responds with an unassuming "Have a nice life!"
In Venom, this relationship is central to the film, as Eddie Brock has been obsessed with taking down Carlton Drake for quite some time. Per the clip, Eddie seems to be having a hard time cracking the story, as Carlton is untouchable. His investigation starts to tarnish his personal and professional life, leading him to go off the books, discover and subsequently merge with the Venom symbiote. While traditionally Venom would be considered a villain in a Spider-Man film, Riz Ahmed's character will be even more villainous as a corrupt scientist likely willing to do anything to make discoveries.
As revealed at San Diego Comic-Con over the summer, Carlton Drake will portray another symbiotic villain: Riot, first seen on the printed page in the comic Venom: Lethal Protector. While fans were hoping and theorizing that Riz Ahmed would turn out to be Carnage, director Ruben Fleischer debunked this possibility with this announcement. With Woody Harrelson a part of the cast with an unknown role, fans have turned their Carnage theories over to him (including us). Since Fleisher teased that more villains could appear in the film, it's still unclear that Riz Ahmed's character will be the true main villain.
Although Venom has a PG-13 rating, the film is expected to be highly violent, with head-chomps and all. The upcoming film is certainly treading into new waters for the movie genre, as there is usually a clear-cut protagonist and antagonist. Still, with the clip setting up Eddie Brock and Carlton Drake as opposers, you can be sure their eventual clash is going to be crazy. Early tracking has the film expected to do well at the box office with an expected domestic opening of $55 to $85 million. Venom comes to theaters on October 5.
