Riz Ahmed’s ‘Venom’ Villain Revealed, Spider-Man Team-Up Teased
While Friday was a relatively quiet day for big screen news coming out of San Diego Comic Con, during the Sony panel there were a couple of details revealed about their highly anticipated “Venom” solo movie (with Tom Hardy in the title role).
Perhaps the biggest news was the reveal that Riz Ahmed, who plays Dr. Carlton Drake, a scientist and philanthropist whose Life Foundation is experimenting with extraterrestrial entities, will also portray Riot, a symbiote like Venom who can hop from person to person. Riot first appeared in the comic book “Venom, Lethal Protector” issue #4 way back in 1993. (Drake was attempting to create a super-powered police force using the alien symbiote. Or something.) So yes, there are more symbiotes in “Venom” than just, you know, Venom!
After screening some blood-splattered footage (in one sequence Venom eats a guy’s head), the cast and crew also teased a possible team-up with Tom Holland, the newly minted Spider-Man. While this seemingly seems impossible, seeing as how Marvel Studios jointly controls the character now, Holland was spotted on the “Venom” set earlier this year and it’s unclear if the “Venom” team was keeping coy or being purposefully opaque. “At some point down the road, they will hopefully cross paths,” director Ruben Fleischer said during the panel. While Hardy chipped in, “Go toe-to-toe with Tom Holland? I’ll have a go!”
So what do you think? Will Spidey show up in “Venom?” And how excited are you to see the ultimate villain appear in his very own film?