Tom Hardy to star as ‘Spider-Man’ villain ‘Venom’

HE PLAYED a formidable villain for DC Comics, and now he’ll do the same for Marvel: Tom Hardy has signed on to lead “Venom,” a spinoff movie in Marvel’s expanding universe.

Hardy will play Eddie Brock, a vengeful reporter who fuses with a powerful alien parasite to become Venom. The character was previously played by Topher Grace in the 2007 film “Spider-Man 3,” as one of the web-slinger’s main antagonists.

“Venom,” a Sony production, is projected for release on Oct. 5, 2018; Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”) will direct.

Venom was i ntroduced i n 1988 and has f l oated th r o u g h th e Ma rv e l Un i v e r s e , ap p e a r i n g

alongside not just Spider- Man but also I ron Man, Deadpool and t he Hulk. He’ s th e la t e s t i n a n extensive a nd growing web of Marvel characters onscreen. Tom Holland’s Spider- Man f i rst showed up i n 2016’ s “Captain America: Civil War,” and he’ll soon be seen i n his own movie, “Spider- Man: Homecoming,” arriving this summer.

Reports i ndicate t hat Sony’s Spider- Man series, which also may include films centered on the characters Silver Sable and Black Cat, will be largely unconnected to the coming “Avengers” movies. It ’ s unclear whether Spider-Man will appear in “Venom” at all.

For Hardy, this is his l atest opportunity to break bad and distort his face. He played Bane i n “The Dark Knight Rises,” starred in “Mad Max: Fury Road” and was nominated for an Oscar for his villainous turn in Alejandro Iñárritu’s “The Revenant.” ( Post)

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