‘Venom’ Movie Is Peppered with Easter Eggs

Venom director Ruben Fleischer promises fan-pleasing Easter eggs are scattered throughout his Marvel Comics adaptation.

"I definitely tried to pepper in Easter eggs throughout the film. Some are more obvious than others. I'm excited for fans of the comics to see the movie and try to spot them," Fleischer told Fandango.

"One thing I will say is that, you know, at least was really gratifying for me, is when the trailer came out, people recognized frames that were taken directly from the comics that we tried to recreate in the movie. That was really gratifying to me to see that people appreciated that we literally lifted iconic frames from the Venom comic book and put them in the movie."

One Easter egg was already spotted in the most recent trailer: when Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), newly merged with the Venom symbiote, menaces a gun-wielding enemy by threatening to eat his eyes, lungs, and pancreas — a line ripped straight out of a '90s Spider-Man comic book that pit the wall-crawling superhero against the deranged anti-hero-slash-supervillain.

"Even a line that's featured in the trailer: 'Eyes, lungs, pancreas. So many snacks, so little time,' is directly taken from the comics," Fleischer said. "It was exciting to me that people recognized that and appreciated that."

Those Easter eggs could be homages to the comic books, as with the shoutout to the Amazing Spider-Man comic books, or set ups for future movies: leading man Hardy is already signed to a three-movie deal, typically a standard deal for such high-profile projects, but also an obvious sign Sony is eyeing a multi-movie plan with the launch of their 'Sony's Universe of Marvel Characters.'

Despite the character's history as one of Spider-Man's most-famed archfoes, fans shouldn't expect any acknowledgement or direct references to the webhead: because the character is on loan in a multi-movie deal with Disney-owned Marvel Studios, it's unlikely Spider-Man gets a mention in Venom.

"I honestly don't know what I'm allowed to say," Fleischer told the LA Times when asked about a possible Spider-Man appearance. "I mean, I know the answer — I've seen the movie. But I don't want to get in trouble for saying something I'm not supposed to."

Venom, starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, and Riz Ahmed, swings into theaters October 5.