Sony's Venom Film is a Go, Gets 2018 Release Date

CBR

By Meagan Damore

Published Mar 16, 2017

Sony's Venom film will swing into theaters late next year with a little help from longtime Spider-Man producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach.

This July, "Spider-Man: Homecoming" will get a whole new lease on life. Thanks to a deal between Sony and Marvel Studios, Spidey has joined the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and it looks as though he didn't come alone. Sony has a "Venom" film in the works with a projected release date of October 5, 2018.

When reached by CBR, Sony confirmed the release date. The studio also confirmed that Scott Rosenberg and "The Amazing Spider-Man 2's" Jeff Pinkner are on board to pen the script.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, "Venom" doesn't have a director. Longtime "Spider-Man" producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach will continue to produce and oversee the project. The studio plans to use "Venom" to launch a franchise.

Watch out, Spider-man. VENOM is now part of the release calendar web as Sony has slated the Spidey spinoff for October 5, 2018.

— Exhibitor Relations (@ERCboxoffice) March 16, 2017

The report claims that the project is from Sony and does not mention Marvel Studios. Though it seems likely that Venom will also be part of the MCU, it is unconfirmed at this time.

Warner Bros.' DC Extended Universe film "Aquaman" originally targeted October 5, 2018 for a release date as well. However, the film's release date was pushed back by two months earlier today.

In the comics, Venom was originally a Spider-Man villain, an alien symbiote which brought out the worst in our friendly neighborhood Peter Parker. He has become more than that in recent years, after the creature was bonded to Flash Thompson, a bully-turned-government-agent. It is unknown at this time which version of the character will appear in the film, though it seems more likely it will be the Flash incarnation.

This won’t be Venom’s first live-action appearance. In 2007’s “Spider-Man 3,” the character was played by Topher Grace and went head-to-head with Spidey in the final act. The spin-off has been in development at the studio for years, with creative talent like Gary Ross, Josh Trank, Paul Wernick, Rhett Reese, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci rumored to be attached.

Spider-Man will build his own corner of the MCU with "Spider-Man: Homecoming." Directed by Jon Watts (“Clown”), written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan M. Goldstein (“Vacation”) and starring Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Marisa Tomei, Robert Downey Jr., Zendaya, Donald Glover and many, many others, “Spider-Man: Homecoming” swings into theaters on July 7, 2017.