Would crossing Venom into the Marvel Cinematic Universe be a good idea?

Would the Venom movie being in the Marvel Cinematic Universe make sense?

Love it or hate it, the Venom spin-off film has been filming in over two weeks now. The leading man for the job as Eddie Brock/Venom is Tom Hardy. He posted a selfie on set on October 23^rd on their official Twitter account.

Sony Pictures, of course, are being tight-lipped about key story details. However, there have been many sources, specifically from ScreenRant and Omega Underground that suggest from specific production information that producers and crew-members have drawn inspiration from a six-issue comic-book series, Venom: Lethal Protector.

Most recently, another selfie was published on the same account, last weekend on November 5.

The spin-off film will largely focus on Eddie Brock and his alien, parasitic, alter-ego Venom with little to no mention of the Spider–Man character. Now, everyone by now knows that Sony retains the rights to all related names, titles, characters and original works based on Spider–Man, his supporting characters and adversaries including those that comprise the villainous group, The Sinister Six.

Therefore, Sony intends to produce their own setting in their own fashion. But what if things were different?

What if Venom was included in the MCU (Marvel Cinematic Universe) and had a similar deal that resulted in Spider-Man: Homecoming for instance? In this piece, I intend to present two likely scenarios that could happen in the Venom movie within and without being in the MCU.

Afterwards, I will assess each scenario and break everything down to its rightful conclusion as to what may well be the correct course of action.

Sony-Verse: Scenario #1

Going with some of the facts, I predict that this will neither be an origin’s story and rise to power type of story, but more of a quest psychologically as well as physically. It may also likely be a tragedy if Sony would dare to go in that route.

Somewhere down the line, Brock will come across the symbiote if the film has not established that he has possession of the living black costume already. Brock will likely be in pursuit by the law and settle in the underbelly of San Francisco on the run. He will come across some homeless and try to blend in with them since his career as a journo has been tarnished by the local New York superhero, Spider-Man.

The homeless that settle near a park are run out by none other than ruthless businessman, Roland Treece, who plans to renovate the park and fields for his own agenda, which may cause serious environmental damage. Utilizing the symbiote’s unique abilities, Brock intends to stop Treece but is in pursuit by a group of mercenaries called The Jury.

Headed by Orwell Taylor, a resourceful man working for Treece, the Jury have been equipped with armor suits, repulsor and high-frequency sonic technology against beings that are bonded to symbiotic organisms. Orwell has a personal grudge against Brock as he killed Orwell’s son during his escape from prison.

Towards the climax of the film, The Jury will capture Venom for Treece for experimentation – involving birthing spawn from the symbiote – at which point Carnage will ultimately be the Big Bad that he may face who perverts his brand of twisted sense of justice.

Venom in MCU: Scenario #2

For this scenario, I had to take into account the age of the current actor of Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Tom Holland, 21) and the suspension of disbelief that an ex-convict in their 30s would be so obsessed with a teenage wall-crawler, not to mention the continuity of the MCU films to date.

Spider-Man will likely be a seasoned crime-fighter of nineteen or early 20’s by the time Venom rolls around (provided the actor is able to renew his contract for more picture deals) after the Spider-Man: Homecoming sequel.

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This Eddie Brock is a cross between titles in the Ultimate Spider-Man series by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley including the mainstream version created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane. Brock is a senior college student who knows Parker, as they were close friends until they became rivals at The Daily Bugle.

At some point, the black suit Spider-Man made his appearance until he rid himself of the symbiote when he learned of its true nature: it is part of an alien race called the Klyntar – a corrupt faction of inorganic species that bond to their chosen hosts. Brock finds out that Parker is Spider-Man as he recognizes the project their father’s were working on: Project Venom.

Richard Parker and Edward Brock Snr had experimented on the symbiote as a way of replicating its genetic code in the form of bio-armour to cure cancer. Unfortunately, they were unable to control the creature then abandoned the project. However, a scientific research and development firm bought the research from under them and it ended up in cold storage several years prior to Avengers: Infinity War.

Brock is furious at Parker for getting rid of the symbiote thus destroying the only connection he has to his late father. Brock then comes into contact with the symbiote, believed to have been destroyed, and becomes Venom. Venom seeks to kill Parker to severe the bond the symbiote has to him on the genetic level as the suit is eating away at his adrenaline and vital signs.

Parker is armed with a sonic weapon with the help of Dr. Bruce Banner and another research scientist not mentioned (implied to be Reed Richards) with their expertise in particle physics. Parker is able to defeat Venom by exploiting the symbiote’s biology and regenerating capabilities.

To conclude this analysis, although Venom being in the MCU allows more creative freedom and resources to produce a film in an established shared-universe without much corporate politics and third parties interference in the film industry, the problem is the inclusion of the character Venom requires time, story, continuity and marketability. If Venom does not fall in line with the plans Marvel Studios has past Phase Three, especially with the 2019 untitled Spider-Man film, then Venom will be left out.

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On the other hand, if Sony does not have the right script from the writing team, despite the talent involved, then it will be another underwhelming film with a Venom appearance. Venom being in the MCU does not guarantee butts in seats, no more than Spider-Man, a flagship character for Marvel, crossover in a Netflix show like Daredevil or Punisher. I would see that for sure, but what about the average moviegoer?

Reuben Fleischer will direct with a screenplay by Scott Rosenberg, Jeff Pinker and Kelly Marcel. Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach and Amy Pascal will produce; Palek Patel and Eric Fineman are overseeing the project for Columbia Pictures. Venom hits theaters October 5, 2018.