Life: 7 Reasons It Should've Been A Secret Venom Origin Story
The film's box-office figures could certainly have done with a boost...
Since sequels, reboots, remakes, spinoffs, cinematic universes and franchise tie-ins are all the rage nowadays, is it really any surprise that a fan theory this clever has gained a significant amount of traction?
For those who missed it, here's the gist. One eagle-eyed Reddit user noticed a decidedly odd similarity between Life, Daniel Espinosa's space-set horror-thriller, and 2007's franchise-killer Spider-Man 3; the trailer for the former used a shot from the latter.
From here, this fan concluded that Life, a film about a rapidly-evolving alien organism that slowly picks off the crew of the International Space Station, is secretly an origin story for prolific Spider-Man villain Venom, a character that began life as a similarly malevolent creature before bonding with a host and becoming a humanoid.
But, sadly... it's not. Life is an incredibly enjoyable movie but in no way is it related to Spidey, Venom, or any other characters featured in that comic-book circle.
That theory was so good, though, that we're confident the folks over at Sony are kicking themselves. With an R-rated Venom spinoff set to debut late next year, Life could have and should have been our surprise introduction to the character, and we've got seven key reasons why.
Note: this article contains spoilers for both Life and recent horror-thriller, Split. Proceed with caution!
7. It Would've Firmly Separated Venom From The MCU
Everything we've heard about the Venom spinoff indicates that it'll be completely separate from the MCU - so no Cap, Iron Man, Black Widow, or Tom Holland Spider-Man in sight.
Whatever Sony's reasoning may be, their wish is to create an isolated cinematic universe featuring characters they have the exclusive rights to, including Black Cat, Silver Sable, and Spidey antagonist Venom.
And with Life, the studio had the perfect opportunity to plant their flag in the soil, make their mark, and distinguish themselves from the family-friendly MCU in a bloodthirsty, thrilling, mature fashion.
Life would not have been your average comic-book adaptation, and could have earned Sony the same praise that genre-defying hits like Kingsman: The Secret Service, Deadpool and Logan did.
There's no way the bright and colourful Captain America, Vision or Iron Man could exist in this same universe, and if Life were a Venom story, it would've made the studio's intent very, very clear from the word go.
Of course, Sony can still make a Venom movie like this, but thanks to Life, we'll feel like we've already seen it and its impact will be lessened. This was their chance to make one hell of a statement, and now it's gone.