The superhero universe is getting a major dose of indie cred. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jenny Slate is in negotiations to join Tom Hardy in the Spider-Man spin-off, Venom.
Existing in a completely different universe than the Tom Holland-fronted Spider-Man: Homecoming, Fox's new series is side focusing on secondary and even tertiary characters from Spider-Man comics. In Venom, the story will focus on a villain instead of Spider-Man himself. Fans may remember that Topher Grace played a version of the enemy in 2003's Spider-Man 3, but it seems that the studio is wiping the spider-slate clean after so many different versions (we're looking at you, Andrew Garfield).
There's no concrete news just yet, but Slate is in talks to play a scientist in Venom. She'd join confirmed actors Riz Ahmed and Michelle Williams. Neither of those actors has been connected with any specific character just yet, but THR did confirm that neither of them would play the film's villain, Carnage. That role is still up for grabs in case any Hollywood stars want to join an illustrious group of Spidey foes, including Alfred Molina, Willem Dafoe, and Jamie Foxx, who have all done their best to take down everyone's favourite web-slinger.
With so few details about Venom available, it's still unclear how Slate, Williams, and Ahmed will play into the story of Eddie Brock, a photographer who bonds with an alien symbiote. With Zombieland's Ruben Fleischer in the director's chair, there's no telling if Venom will veer into comic comedy like Deadpool or stay on the straight-and-narrow like the X-Men franchise. It's also the first in a series of spin-offs that Sony has planned; the studio is also developing Silver & Black, a film starring feline comic characters Silver Sable and Black Cat.
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