Sony's Venom Movie Reportedly Eyeing Adi Shankar To Direct

03/29/2017 11:31 am EDT

The Spider-Man movie franchise is now back in full swing (pun), starting with the release of Spider-Man: Homecoming this summer. However, after Marvel relaunches Spider-Man within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, there will be a strange fork in the road, with Sony establishing its own Spider-Man universe separate from the MCU.

An R-rated Venom movie will the first to launch this new Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, and there have been rumors swirling about who will direct it.

After initial erroneous reports that The Mummy reboot director Alex Kurtzman was taking the Venom director's chair, we haven't heard much about the issue. Now however, it's being said that Dredd producer and "Bootleg Universe" mastermind Adi Shankar could land the job.

Splash Report's Kellvin Chavez dropped the alleged scoop that Shankar is at the top of Sony's shortlist of directors for Venom. It's not that surprising of a choice, really, since most fans are aware that one of Shankar's most popular (or infamous) superhero short films in his "Bootleg Universe" is Truth in Journalism, a unique take on Venom starring Trueblood's Ryan Kwanten as psychotic journalist, Eddie Brock.

However, not everyone loved Truth In Journalism. Even though it wasn't directed by Shankar himself (Joe Lynch was at the helm), a lot fans still see the short as being Shankar's vision of the character, first and foremost. There's also the fact that Shankar hasn't directed a major blockbuster film before, meaning this would truly be an interesting choice, if it pans out.

Still, the man has had vision that has inspired and entertained millions of fans around the world, for years. He already has an R-rated Castlevania animated Netflix series on the way, and if there is any truth to this latest rumor, he must of sold Sony on some gem of an idea for Venom. We're just hoping there's a Carnage component attached to it...

Spider-Man: Homecoming currently has a 4.06 out of 5 ComicBook User Anticipation Rating, making it the ninth most anticipated upcoming comic book movie among ComicBook.com readers. Let us know how excited your are for Spider-Man: Homecoming by giving it your own rating below.

Spider-Man: Homecoming opens in theaters on July 7, 2017. Venom will hit theaters on Oct. 5, 2018.

More Spider-Man: Homecoming:

• Venom Isn't Part of the MCU
• Venom to Launch New Shared Universe
• Why Venom Needs to be Rated R
• Second Trailer Teaser
• New Poster
• Does Vulture Run Damage Control in the MCU?

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