Venom Movie Listed As Horror-Science Fiction

The Venom movie is becoming more and more real. Earlier in March, Sony Pictures gave Venom a release date. Now the film also has a production date.

According to industry casting website MyEntertainmentWorld, Venom will enter production in the fall of 2017, about one year before its release.

What is more interesting is that Venom is listed on the website as being in the genre of “Action/Horror/Sci-Fi,” which is a pretty unique mix for a movie inspired by Marvel Comics.

The “action” portion of that genre equation should come as no surprise. Superhero movies, in general, fall pretty squarely into the “action” genre. They also frequently have elements of science fiction embedded in their universe, but “horror” is new territory for superhero movies.

The modern sci-fi/horror was established in 1979 by Ridley Scott’s Alien, and the Alien franchise remains a sci-fi/horror institution. That kind of claustrophobic atmosphere could serve Venom well if the film focuses on the symbiote taking control of the host body.

A more modern take on the sci-fi/horror genre is the film Life, which is now in theaters. Some fans came up with a fan theory that Life is secretly a prequel for Venom based on some reused footage from Spider-Man 3 in the Life trailer, that writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick (who also wrote Deadpool) wrote a past Venom screenplay and the fact that the film involves a shapeshifting alien lifeform. Surprisingly, the filmmakers wouldn’t rule the idea out.

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“Yes, the answer is yes!” writer Paul Wernick joke while speaking to ComicBook.com. “We are tied to Venom! We are the prequel to Venom!”

“One is that we wrote a Venom screenplay, so I think people saw that connection,” Reese added. “They also saw the Spider-Man 3 footage that sneaked its way into our last trailer…They just announced a Venom movie release date just yesterday.”

“All of the sudden, someone’s out there going, ‘Bing! Lightbulb!’” Wernick chimed in.

For those unfamiliar with the character, Venom is a fan favorite Spider-Man villain and sometimes Marvel Comics antihero. Todd McFarlane created Venom in 1988 and he first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #300, though the character was inspired by the black costume given to Spider-Man in 1984’s The Amazing Spider-Man #252.

The Venom suit is actually an alien lifeform from its own will and consciousness. the Venom suit is a Klytar, and symbiotic alien race. He has gone through many human hosts, originally attempting to bond with Peter Parker but, after being rejecting, joining Eddie Brock, a disgruntled reporter.

Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinker are working on the current script for Venom. Venom will hit theaters on Oct. 5, 2018.

More Venom: The Internet Reacts To The Venom Movie Announcement / The History Of Unmade Venom Movies / Which Venom Host Will Star In The Venom Movie?