4. Get Eddie Brock Out Of The Way
You can't have a Venom with out talking about Eddie Brock. He was the second person to take on the symbiotic being after Spider-Man, and is the person we most recognise as being Venom. There is no way you can tell the story of Venom with out doing his storyline. Especially if we are going to talk about where a stand alone film could go. However, I don't think he is the most interesting version of Venom to take to the big screen. Brock is a thug who also doubles up as a photographer and rival of Peter Parker at the Daily Bugle. Once Brock and the symbiote come together their main goal is to destroy Peter Parker, both because Brock has been humiliated by Peter and the symbiote was rejected by him also. It makes a great antagonist to Spider-Man because you have two beings, acting as one, hellbent on dismantling the web slinger. So in order to set up a stand alone Venom movie, I feel you have to deal with it in the main Spider-Man franchise. Having Peter take the suit, Brock then become Venom and then have Spider-Man defeat Venom and Brock and make them split from one another is an imperative arch. This could then lead into the next point and the protagonist in of a stand alone Venom movie.