As Sony irons out a plan for its future Marvel movies, a new rumor suggests one of the most popular characters in Spider-Man lore could become the subject of his own animated film. On the heels of the news that Spider-Punk from Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse is going to headline a spin-off film, industry insider Daniel Richtman says that animated movies revolving around Spider-Woman and Venom are also in the works. Details beyond that are being kept under wraps, so it’s unknown if these projects would emulate the animation style seen in the Spider-Verse films or have their own unique aesthetic.
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Venom, of course, headlined a live-action film trilogy starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock. While none of those movies were critical darlings, the series was financially successful, grossing a combined $1.8 billion worldwide. However, the franchise saw diminishing returns with each installment; last year’s Venom: The Last Dance was the lowest-grossing entry with $478.9 million globally.
The Venom films were the only entries in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe franchise that achieved any modicum of success. Other titles such as Morbius, Madame Web, and Kraven the Hunter received poor reviews and bombed at the box office. As a result, Sony stopped developing Spider-Man spin-off projects and shifted its focus to Spider-Man: Brand New Day and Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
Shortly after Venom: The Last Dance premiered last fall, there were rumors suggesting Sony was developing an Agent Venom film. That project would allow the studio to continue the live-action series without Hardy, as Agent Venom would revolve around Flash Thompson bonding with the symbiote. Seemingly no progress has been made on that movie since the initial reports came out.
An animated Venom film sounds like an exciting change of pace for Sony. Since the live-action films saw diminished returns as they went on, an argument can be made that audiences have lost interest in those films. Even a shift to a different protagonist may not be enough to reignite enthusiasm. Going animated would make the next Venom movie feel fresh, allowing it to stand out from what’s come before. Utilizing a different medium would give the filmmakers an opportunity to put a distinct spin on the material. It’s an approach that worked very well for the Spider-Verse movies, which brilliantly combine heart and humor. There’s no reason why Venom can’t be the subject of a compelling animated movie himself.
It’s understandable why Sony pulled the plug on the live-action Spider-Man spinoffs, but Venom is too popular a character to leave on the shelf forever. With Beyond the Spider-Verse wrapping up a trilogy itself, something like an animated Venom or Spider-Woman movie would be a way for Sony to continue to lean on those types of projects, which have proven to be quite successful so far. The Spider-Verse films are bursting at the seams with creativity and passion for the source material. A Venom movie might need a slightly different tone to better fit the character, but it would be exciting to see what Sony’s animation team could come up with. Imagination truly is the limit in animation, so this could be a way to give Venom the acclaimed film he deserves.
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