Howdy everyone! Have you listened to the latest, DOUBLE SIZED episode of That’s Entertaining, where Nate, Mo and I take an in depth look at Avengers: Infinity War? If not, check it out here. My article this month is a direct follow up to that podcast! As we were winding down the show, Nate asked me, a huge Spider-Man fan, what I thought of the Venom trailer…only I hadn’t seen it yet! I was mostly disappointed by the trailers my theater showed. I did get to see Incredibles 2, which was definitely, uh, incredible, but that was far and away the highlight. There was NO trailer for Deadpool 2, which was a bummer, but then I’d already seen a trailer for that so it wasn’t that big of a deal. BUT THEN there WASN’T a trailer for Venom! Come on movie theater! I know trailers are readily available online, but I prefer to see them on the big screen, and I thought seeing Avengers: Infinity War, which has EVERY freaking super hero in it, would have trailers for Deadpool 2 and Venom for sure, but alas, they didn’t. But, being the dedicated journalistic professional I am, I tracked down that Venom trailer and gave it a watch so I could answer Nate’s question! Here’s my thoughts:
Pros – What they show of Venom looks cool and the trailer had a bit of an Alien/Aliens feel to it. It already feels like the symbiote is getting more of a backstory than it ever got in both Spider-Man 3 and the classic Spider-Man cartoon from the 90’s. I had zero doubts about Tom Hardy playing Eddie Brock, but just from the trailer I can tell he’ll be a great Brock/Venom.
Cons – Why are they saying symBYote?! I (and a lot of other people) thought it was pronounced symBEote. It would have been nice to see a full shot of Venom, as opposed to just the head shot the trailer showed. My biggest concern though, stems from the story, specifically that it appears to be an origin story. I get that there’s a lot of uncertainty when it comes to Spider-Man’s film rights. I’ve heard both that this will connect to the current Spider-Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and also that it will not be involved at all. Sure it’s not ideal for Venom to be separate from Spider-Man, but Venom is popular enough that it could work. It sounds like the possibility is open for there to be crossover, so my thought process is tell a stand alone story that leaves that possibility open. But doing a Venom origin story not involving Spider-Man feels like you’re taking the teeth away from Venom. Brock and the symbiote bond over their mutual hatred of Peter Parker and Spider-Man, and their bond is one of the deepest in comics. To have Venom be born from just some random guy cuts Venom off at the knees, and I’m fearful the character may not be able to recover.
Then again though, it’s just a two-something minute trailer, so hopefully everything will turn out okay. I have seen enough to be hopeful for a good movie though, and it’s definitely cool looking so it’s got a lot going for it. What did you all think of the Venom trailer? Let me know in the comments and I’ll catch you next time!
