Fans aren’t the only ones with some questions regarding Sony’s upcoming Venom flick. In an interview with Screen Geek, Todd McFarlane, co-creator of the fan-favorite character, shared some thoughts of his own. It’s only natural, of course.
Ever since the failed attempt in Spider-Man 3, the idea of a cinematic rendition of the character done right has been on people’s minds. Creators often weigh in on adaptations of their characters. Stan Lee ha lampooned Fox twice for their portrayal of the Doctor Doom character. And Stephen King, who is notorious for rather disliking adaptations of his books, even personally remade The Shining for that very reason. This is perhaps most interesting because McFarlane didn’t comment on Venom in Spider-Man 3. So what did McFarlane have to say?
Right off the bat, it’s clear that McFarlane has some questions that very much mirror the gripes people had with the 2006 movie.
“So now what’s Venom gonna look like? It’s an R-rated movie, how ‘R’ are they going to go? To me, that’s the question. Are they going to go a ‘little bit R?’ Venom’s a monster to me, and to me – are they going to make him a monster or are they going to make him a man? Are they going to humanize him? That’s what we gotta’ find out.”
One of the most significant criticisms levied against Spider-Man 3‘s portrayal of Venom was that he simply didn’t look the part. Even at his tamest and smallest, in the comics, he is a hulking, barely human entity. And even setting aside how imposing he is, physically, he’s also got a mouthful of razor sharp teeth and a prehensile tongue. Venom is not a pleasant guy to look at. This statement, alone, probably validated many fans in their contempt for the previous iteration.
As valid a point as that is, there is one other question that hasn’t yet been asked, and fits into the same line of thinking. What’s Carnage, arguably 90% of the reason for the R-rating in the first place, going to look like? Carnage was a serial killer, even without his symbiote. He was confirmed as the main villain of the film. With it, he’s smaller than Venom, but one can argue that he looks even more monstrous. With Venom being the one who maintains a sense of morals and ethics, it could turn out that Carnage looks far more menacing and monstrous, whereas Venom takes a slightly more human (but hopefully still fairly frightening) appearance. Venom is a monster, in part, but beneath it, he is still a man. Carnage is a monster both ways. It could be a factor of subtle visual storytelling. What do you think? Will Venom look more monstrous or more human?
Venom, starring Tom Hardy, will take over theaters October 5, 2018.
