After years of Sony churning out Spider-Man movies to mixed results, fans finally had their dreams come true when it was announced that Peter Parker would be joining the MCU. The unprecedented deal between Marvel and Sony would allow the latter to reap the financial benefits of the character, while letting Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios dictate the character's tone and feature him in their films. After stealing the show in Captain America: Civil War, this summer's Spider-Man: Homecoming will finally allow the hero to exist in the same world as the Avengers.
With today's Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer release, excitement couldn't be higher. With the film's success almost guaranteed, the announcement less than two weeks ago that Sony would be moving forward with a Venom movie has confused virtually everyone. Since that time, things have kicked into high gear for the movie. We learned just this weekend that the film is set to shoot this fall and would have a sci-fi/horror bent. Yesterday, news broke that not only would the movie carry an R rating, but it would take place in its own universe. Homecoming director Jon Watts confirmed as much today, saying his movie and Venom wouldn't connect to the MCU. Spider-Man himself, Tom Holland, also stated he has no involvement in the film.
Still, it appears to be moving forward unabated. Splash Report reports that a short list of directors already exists, with Adi Shankar at the top of it. For fans of the producer, best known for his work on Dredd, this is good news. Shankar came to the internet's awareness thanks to a bold short film he worked on titled Truth in Journalism that told the tale of Eddie Brock through the lens of a documentary filmmaker. To many, it served as the perfect blueprint for a Venom film, and it looks like Sony may agree.
Shankar also created Dirty Laundry, a Punisher short film starring Thomas Jane that gave us the most definitive live-action version of Frank Castle that existed until Daredevil season 2 rolled around. More recently, he created a dark version of the Power Rangers that took social media by storm. Strangely enough, the popularity of the film has led to Shankar creating a new animated Power Rangers project that's supposed to be just as violent and will air on Netflix.
While it's not surprising that a rising star like Shankar would get attached to a project he has long been tied to, it's still a smart move by Sony. Shankar clearly understand the character and has the credibility to help cut through the controversy already growing around a Venom movie not connected to Spider-Man: Homecoming. With the rate at which news has been coming out regarding Venom, it wouldn't be surprising if we knew who was directing and starring in it by the end of the week, but it remains to be seen.
Next: Can Sony’s Spider-Man Universe Work Without the MCU?
Source: Splash Report
