Sony's Marvel Film Universe: 8 Things You Need To Know
7. Venom Will Be A Horror Film
Marvel
Possibly the single-greatest reason for fans to rally behind Sony's universe is that Venom - the long gestating solo feature focussing on the Spidey villain - will be a horror film, inspired by the likes of David Cronenberg and John Carpenter.
Zombieland's Rueben Fleischer will direct the film, with a script provided by Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner, and the director spoke to Variety in July regarding the project:
"I’ve always been drawn to the more antihero superheroes. There’s a dark element to [Eddie Brock] and a wit that has always appealed to me."
Studio head Sanford Panitch then confirmed that the film will borrow from Cronenberg and Carpenter in its approach to the character, and considering the horror roots of Venom, it makes sense. The Symbiote is an utterly grotesque being and, anti-hero or not, the character's still terrifying. It's a fairly essential element to convey, and one that Fleischer will no doubt be equipped to do so.
Fans of the Truth in Journalism short will no doubt anticipate a more horrific Venom on the big screen. Not that it'll take much to top Topher Grace, that is.
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
