Riz Ahmed Venom EmmyWrap UNLIMITED The Night of

“Rogue One” star Riz Ahmed is in early talks to join Tom Hardy in Sony’s “Venom.”

Ahmed will play a familiar character in the Marvel Universe. Variety first reported the news of Ahmed’s talks and TheWrap confirmed the details.

Ruben Fleischer (“Zombieland”) is set to direct. “Venom” will be released on Oct. 5, 2018 with a production start date of fall 2017.

See Riz Ahmed's latest POWER MOVE.

PowerRank:

3798

“Venom” is from Sony’s Marvel Universe of characters. (The studio says it is not a “Spider-Man” spinoff, as other news outlets have reported).

Venom is one of the most popular superheroes in the Marvel Universe and dates back to the 1980s when Spider-Man briefly adopted a black costume which later turned out to be a living alien being. Photographer Eddie Brock was able to merge with it and become the horrifying, sharp-fanged Venom. Brock was played by Topher Grace in “Spider-Man 3.”

Throughout the history of Marvel Comics, “Venom” has appeared alongside “Spider-Man,” “Iron Man,” “Deadpool,” “Hulk” and many other Marvel Comics characters.

Also Read: Tom Hardy to Star as 'Venom' for Sony, Ruben Fleischer Set to Direct

Tom Hardy is a huge fan of Venom and has a strikingly similar look to the original comic’s depiction of Eddie Brock.

Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are producing along with Amy Pascal.

Palak Patel and Eric Fineman overseeing for Columbia Pictures.

“Venom” marks Fleischer’s first major tentpole film since signing with CAA last year. Fleischer is also currently developing a sequel to “Zombieland.”

Spider-Man Movie Villains Ranked, From Venom to The Vulture (Photos)

"Spider-Man: Homecoming" features some of the best Marvel movie villains in both the Spider-Man and MCU movies to date. Here is TheWrap's rankings from the worst to the best.
12. Rhino
Paul Giamatti's overdone silly accent + mech suit take on this classic bad guy is the worst Spider villain in what may be the worst "Spider-Man" film. Thanks, but Rhino thanks.
Sony Pictures
11. Venom
Long before making his third "Spider-Man" film, Sam Raimi was on the record as not liking this character at all. Sony forced him to include Venom (played by Topher Grace) anyway, which might be why it turned out so bad.
Sony Pictures
10. Electro
Jamie Foxx's forgettable portrayal of Max Dillon/Electro in "The Amazing Spider-Man 2" was equal parts terrible cgi, terrible performance, and all cheese.
Sony Pictures
9. The Lizard
"The Amazing Spider-Man"'s Curt Connors/The Lizard was equal parts bad cgi, bad character design, and a bad take on one of Spidey's most iconic enemies. What a waste of Rhys Ifans.
Sony Pictures
8. Sandman
Thomas Haden Church was still hot off his "Sideways" career rejuvenation when he played Flint Marko/Sandman in "Spider-Man 3." He's pretty good... too bad the movie isn't.
Sony Pictures
7. The Tinkerer
Michael Chernus played the first-ever movie version of The Tinkerer, seen in "Spider-Man: Homecoming" as one of the Vulture's inner circle. He's the guy who reverse-engineered alien tech and created the Vulture crew's gadgets.
Sony Pictures
6. Harry Osbourne/GreenGoblin
Perhaps one of the only saving graces from "The Amazing Spider-Man" duology is Dane Dehaan's Harry Osbourne, who had a much better arc than his predecessor.
Sony Pictures
5. The Shocker
"Fargo" star Bokeem Woodbine's grounded portrayal of this "Spider-Man: Homecoming" is an MCU standout.
Sony Pictures
4. Harry Osbourne (James Franco)
James Franco's version of Harry Osborn appears in all three Sam Raimi-directed "Spider-Man" movies. He went from being Spidey's best bud to one of the bad guys.
Sony Pictures
3. Green Goblin
Willem Dafoe gives an great performance as Norman Osbourne/The Green Goblin in the first "Spider-Man," though the character gets an uneven and incomplete arc, keeping it out of the top 2.
Sony Pictures
2. The Vulture
Michael Keaton's performance as Adrian Toomes/The Vulture is not only a fun meta-joke about his Oscar-nominated role in "Birdman," it also finally solved the Marvel Cinematic Universe's so-called villain problem.
Sony Pictures
1. Doctor Octopus
Alfred Molina portrayal of Otto Octavius in "Spider-Man 2" remains the gold standard by which all Marvel movie villains are judged by.
Sony Pictures
If you like this gallery, check out Everything You Need to Know Before Seeing ‘Spider-Man: Homecoming’ (Photos)

1 of 14

Some of the best Marvel movie villains have appeared in “Spider-Man” movies

"Spider-Man: Homecoming" features some of the best Marvel movie villains in both the Spider-Man and MCU movies to date. Here is TheWrap's rankings from the worst to the best.

View In Gallery