R-Rated Venom Movie to Kick Off Sony’s Own Marvel Universe

While many details are still murky, Sony has started to shed a bit of light on their plans for their recently revealed standalone Venom film.

According to a report from Collider, Sony intends to use an R-rated, Venom-starring film to establish their own Marvel universe (their third in the last ten years, fourth if you count their co-ownership of the MCU-based Spider-Man solo movies). As previously reported, the Venom film will not be at all associated with Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe or any of Sony’s previously established movie Spider-Men.

According to casting site MyEntertainmentWorld (via Screenrant), not only is the Venom movie slated to begin filming this fall, but its genre is listed as “Action/Horror/Sci-Fi,” which seems to fit the R-rated narrative. Logan and Deadpool have both been bloody, R-rated, continuity-ignoring hits for Fox, so Sony is likely only following suit.

Last week, THR revealed Sony’s development of a Black Cat and Silver Sable movie, which can be assumed to be the next step in this film franchise. Still, Sony and Marvel have a lot of explaining to do regarding Spider-Man’s potential involvement, since he’s so integral to Venom’s origin. With Spidey’s inclusion, there might be a number of legal webs to untangle, and without … Well, nobody seems to have any idea how that would work.

The Venom film is targeting an Oct. 5, 2018 release.Be sure to stay tuned to Paste for any updates on this confusing string of superhero movie news. In the meantime (and for reference), below is a teaser for tomorrow’s Spider-Man: Homecoming trailer that is not at all connected to the aforementioned Sony/Marvel movies.