13 Anticipated 2018 Movies Destined To Disappoint

4. Venom

The Buzz: Tom Hardy is an undeniable dream casting pick to play Eddie Brock aka Venom, and whatever other question marks this project might raise, Hardy has a smart head for picking great roles for himself.

Above all else, his portrayal of the character will almost certainly top Topher Grace's widely-lambasted, comically miscast effort. Plus, Hardy will be reportedly joined by Jenny Slate and Riz Ahmed in supporting roles, the latter rumoured to be playing the villainous Carnage.

Why It'll Disappoint: As much as one wants to root for this film, it's got a lot hanging over its head. Firstly, director Ruben Fleischer hasn't made a genuinely good movie since his debut Zombieland almost a decade ago, and the three screenwriters have been collectively responsible for Kangaroo Jack, The Amazing Spider-Man 2, Fifty Shades of Grey and The Dark Tower. Yup.

On top of all this, there's the awkwardness involving Sony's attempts to make this movie the first entry into their own Marvel Universe, as well as being an "adjunct" to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. If this world-building gets in the way of the basic storytelling, it could be a huge problem.

Fingers crossed Hollywood actually learned something from Batman v Superman and The Mummy's aggressive, even desperate attempts to build cinematic universes, but don't count on it.