Venom is a fictional character primarily voiced by Tom Hardy appearing in the Sony's Spider-Man Universe (SSU) media franchise, based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name. Introduced in Venom (2018), Venom is depicted as a symbiote who binds with human investigative journalist Eddie Brock after landing on Earth, with the duo subsequently becoming a vigilante jointly known by Venom's name, and later as the Lethal Protector, facing Venom's former team leader, Riot, and later his son, Carnage, in combat. They are the second incarnation of the character in film, after Topher Grace and Tobey Maguire's respective portrayals of Eddie Brock / Venom and a symbiote-enveloped Spider-Man in Spider-Man 3 (2007).
, the character has appeared in three films: Venom, Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), and an uncredited cameo appearance in the web series Chen's Market and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: No Way Home (both 2021). Hardy will reprise his role in a third film. While Hardy's portrayal of the character in Venom was met with a mixed critical reception, the chemistry between Eddie Brock and Venom received praise.
Concept and creation
The idea of giving Spider-Man a new costume was conceived by Randy Schueler, a Marvel Comics reader from Norridge, Illinois. In 1982, Schueler was sent a letter by editor-in-chief Jim Shooter, who acknowledged interest in his idea, with Shooter coming up with the idea of a black-and-white costume. "The Alien Costume" first appeared in The Amazing Spider-Man #252 (May 1984), before fully appearing as Venom in the 300th issue.
Venom's subsequent host, Eddie Brock, was created for the 300th issue of The Amazing Spider-Man in May 1988 due to cultural sensibilities of David Michelinie's suggestion of a villain consisting of the alien symbiote grafted into the body of a human female that forced him to conceive a male character by editor Jim Salicrup. Brock was later retconned to have a first appearance as a hand in Web of Spider-Man #18 (September 1986), but officially debuting in The Amazing Spider-Man #300, by Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, alongside Venom, initially presented as his alter-ego rather than as a separate living being.
Post-Spider-Man 3
By July 2008, Sony Pictures was actively developing a spin-off film based on Venom alongside direct sequels to Spider-Man 3 (2007), hoping the character could "add longevity" to the franchise in a similar fashion to Wolverine in 20th Century Fox's X-Men films. Industry insiders suggested Topher Grace, who portrayed Brock in Spider-Man 3, should return for the spin-off because "the likeable actor could be a sympathetic evildoer", in response, McFarlane suggested that a Venom film could not do well with a villain as the central character.
In December 2013, Sony revealed plans to use The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014) to establish their own expanded universe based on the Marvel properties they had the film rights to, including Venom. Since the film underperformed, in February 2015, Sony and Marvel Studios announced a partnership that would see Marvel Studios produce the next Spider-Man film for Sony, and integrate the character into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Sony still planned to produce the spin-off films on their own, but by November Sony had been focused on its new reboot with Marvel Studios and were believed to have been canceled.
Revival and casting
In March 2016, Sony revived the Venom film, being envisioned as a standalone film launching its own franchise unrelated to Sony and Marvel Studios' MCU Spider-Man films. In May 2017, Sony announced that Tom Hardy would star as Eddie Brock / Venom in the film, officially beginning a new shared universe that was later titled "Sony's Spider-Man Universe". The casting of Hardy, whose son was a big fan of Venom, happened quickly after he had left Triple Frontier (2019) in April and Sony saw "an opportunity to court an in-demand talent". Brad Venable provided additional voiceover for Venom's pain and grunting sounds in Venom, his voice being combined with Hardy's for some dialogue, such as "We are Venom". Hardy signed on for three Venom films, which included Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021).
After the Let There Be Carnage mid-credits scene showed Brock and Venom being transported from their universe into the MCU, many commentators expected Hardy to reprise his roles in the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021). Hardy ultimately appeared as Brock in the film's mid-credits scene, though there had been discussions about integrating him into the film's final battle. The character unknowingly leaves a piece of the Venom symbiote behind in the MCU at the end of the scene.