Life: 7 Reasons It Should've Been A Secret Venom Origin Story

The element of surprise is something we rarely feel when enjoying a movie in the theatre. With more and more big movies vying for our attention than ever before, pre-release hype reaches such dizzying heights that most movies blow their load in a misguided attempt to persuade audiences to buy those tickets.

And that's why M. Night Shyamalan's latest thriller, Split, was such a roaring success. The film made over $250 million on a $9 million budget, and a lot of that cash can be attributed to its surprising final scene.

Nodody expected the film to be a secret sequel to Unbreakable, one of Shyamalan's earlier efforts. So, when news got out, buzz for the film spread like wildfire. Everyone heard about this mind-blowing twist, and suddenly, Split became essential viewing - nobody wanted to be left out of the conversation.

Life could have been a similar story. From the studio's point of view, slipping in a major nod to Venom would have made the film nothing short of box-office gold. Imagine if that news got out after the first few screenings of the movie? People who would otherwise have ignored Life would book their tickets instantly, and the film would find a bigger audience in the same way Split did.

So for the studio, it would have been a win, and for audiences, it would have been one of the most exciting cinematic experiences of the year. Sure, Guardians of the Galaxy and Justice League will be fun, but we know what to expect from those movies - whereas Life could have delivered something wholly unexpected.