From Sticky Outsider to Animated Evolution
There was a time when Venom felt like the scrappy outsider who crashed the superhero party uninvited and then refused to leave. Cheers to being loud, sticky and unapologetically strange. Now he’s heading into the world of animation. Sony has decided that its inky anti hero deserves one more evolution per THR . The studio is developing its first animated Venom feature and they aren’t playing it safe either. They’ve handed the reins to the duo who recently resuscitated a horror franchise most people had quietly buried. Do the names, Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein ring a bell? Yeah, that’s right, the directors behind Final Destination: Bloodlines will be tearing off the floorboards to allow something new to crawl out.
The Architects of the Venom Era Return
Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach will be producing once again. The architects of the live action Venom era aren’t stepping aside. They’re just changing the language And in case you wondering, yes, Tom Hardy is still in the room. But not as the man sprinting through San Francisco while negotiating with a parasitic roommate in his own skull. Oh no, Tom Hardy will be a producer. His longtime collaborator Kelly Marcel will also be there. The voice that shaped Eddie Brock’s chaos will be in full attendance.
No Script Yet, Just a Playground
Although there doesn’t seem to be a writer yet, Sony Pictures Animation is opening a writers room. Which means, they have a playground with the toys. All that remains is building the monster. Venom’s history is its own kind of myth. Created by Bill Michelinie and Todd McFarlane, he slithered into the pages of The Amazing Spider-Man issue #300 in 1988 as a villain. But audiences love a good corruption arc. He didn’t stay just a villain. He became obsession and earned his own solo comic in 1993.
A Divisive Screen Debut
On screen, his first appearance came courtesy of Sam Raimi in Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace. It was divisive, crowded, and very 2007.
Then came 2018’s Venom, led by Hardy, which stunned everyone with an $856 million global haul. It thrived in the thick of the comic book gold rush. The sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, didn’t make as much. By the time Venom: The Last Dance arrived, the numbers had dipped again. Which sounded very much like fading applause.
When a Franchise Starts Losing Altitude
So what do you do when a franchise starts losing altitude? You change the air it breathes. Animation offers something live action is yet to produce. Freedom from gravity and expectations of realism. Sony Pictures Animation struck gold with the Spider Verse films shepherded by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Earning critical acclaim, Oscars, and cultural impact. They proved that superhero animation can be art instead of afterthought.
Why Animation Changes the Air
But animation is slow and meticulous. It’s sculpting lightning one frame at a time. And with no script yet, it will probably be years before this version of Venom reaches us. Now this is not necessairly a bad thing. Sometimes distance forces reinvention. Lipovsky and Stein have already shown they can inject adrenaline into something people thought was cut and dry. Their Final Destination: Bloodlines became the franchise’s highest grossing entry and its best reviewed. That’s not luck. That’s understanding what made the original pulse and daring to update the heartbeat.
Since then, they’ve become the darlings of the industry. Boarding projects like a new Gremlins collaboration with Chris Columbus, and developing the thriller Long Lost at Universal Pictures produced by Amblin Entertainment. So here we are, Venom, the outsider who refused to stay a side character, preparing for another metamorphosis. The real question is not whether he can survive in animation. The question is whether animation will finally let him become something stranger, sharper, and more honest than he’s ever been in live action. Venom has always been about duality. Man and monster. Control and chaos. Hunger and conscience. Maybe the next evolution isn’t about bigger box office numbers. Maybe it’s about letting the monster breathe.
