Columbia Pictures targets Spider-Man spin-off “Venom”

PanARMENIAN.Net - While Columbia Pictures will not release "The Amazing Spider-Man" until July 3, the studio has already targeted a spin-off film for the superhero character. Los Angeles Times' 24 Frames reported that a standalone movie for Spidey's nemesis, Venom, is currently underway with "Chronicle" helmer Josh Trank being eyed to direct, Aceshowbiz reported.

The draft for "Venom" (2013) was written by Jacob Estes a few years ago, but the producers are reportedly looking for a new scribe to rewrite the script. Previously, Gary Ross was tapped as the director but he exited the gig to work on his other projects, including the potential blockbuster "The Hunger Games". It was said that Ross version of Venom was "less a villain than an antihero."

Though the black suited character was made famous by Topher Grace in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3", the spin-off will cast a new actor to play the antihero. It is still unclear if the forthcoming film will be related to the Andrew Garfield-starring "Spider-Man" pic.

Venom first appeared in the Marvel comics as an alien costume worn by Spidey in "The Amazing Spider-Man" #252 in 1984. The creature later left Peter Parker before being found by Eddie Brock, who used it to form an antihero called Venom. Since then, Venom appeared in various different forms and bonded with several different hosts.

As for Josh Trank, the 28-year-old is known for bringing micro-budget "Chronicle" into a big success as it grossed $104 million worldwide. In addition to the "Venom" movie, the filmmaker has also been poised to helm an untitled New Fantastic Four project for 20th Century Fox.