'Black Panther' Actress Sope Aluko Cast in 'Venom'

It looks like one Black Panther cast member will soon be headed to another Marvel property.Sope [...]

It looks like one Black Panther cast member will soon be headed to another Marvel property.

Sope Aluko has reportedly been cast in Sony's Venom movie, according to Deadline. It is currently unknown exactly what role she will have in the film.

Marvel fans will best recognize Aluko for playing the Shaman in Black Panther, as well as appearances in Bloodline and Graceland.

"Hollywood had the version of Africa they wanted to present and package to the world and it looks like they've since changed then," Aluko said of her Black Panther role earlier this year. "Directors are now more open to casting real Africans with real accents from different parts of the continent, so that's very reassuring. Notable names like Yvonne Orji, Lupita Nyong'o and David Oyewole have made it easier for those coming behind to break in. It's cool to be Nigerian these days, so it's a great time for actors in Hollywood because it feels like it's all finally happening."

Aluko will join Tom Hardy, who will be playing the titular antihero. Also in the cast are Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, Reid Scott, Woody Harrelson, and Scott Haze.

Despite the film's first trailer debuting earlier this year, a lot is still unknown about Venom, and exactly what kind of story it will bring to the big screen. But fans have been cautiously optimistic -- including Venom co-creator Todd McFarlane.

"The only thing that's warming my heart - I mean Tom Hardy is obviously a good choice - the thing that's warming my heart is they're saying it's going to be R." McFarlane told ComicBook.com late last year. "So now the question is (and I haven't read the script), like what does that mean? Because again, we've seen a couple "R movies" right? I mean we've seen Logan and we've seen Deadpool... So it would be interesting to me to see what they do. I mean I know what I would do if they gave me that character; I would scare the sh*t out of people with it. I don't know if they want to go that far with it, cause again, you can sell a lot of shirts and toys if you don't completely scare people, so it will be interesting."

venom sope aluko

Venom will debut in theaters on October 5th.

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