Josh Trank's 'Venom' Movie May Tie Into 'The Amazing Spider-Man' Universe

Long before the upcoming “The Amazing Spider-Man” pressed the reset button on the lucrative Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire-era of films about our favorite web slinger, there was talk of a standalone film starring Spidey’s arch nemesis Venom. Having been portrayed by “That ‘70s Show” veteran Topher Grace in the poorly-received (but still financially successful) third entry in the Raimi-helmed series, Venom was a product of the blend of a black symbiote suit that briefly turned Spidey to the dark side, and then bonded more permanently with Peter Parker's rival Eddie Brock.

Grace didn’t exactly impress as Brock, but the Venom transformation sure looked great, and that’s probably all “Amazing Spider-Man” producers Avi Arad and Matthew Tolmach needed to convince Sony that the character could at least make for a cool looking superhero flick. Back in March it was reported that “Chronicle” helmer Josh Trank was in talks to take the reins of a new iteration of the “Venom” movie (which once had “The Hunger Games” helmer Gary Ross involved), but now it looks as if whoever does takeover directorial duties will have some world building cut out for them.

Following in the wake of the uber successful “The Avengers” (heard of it?), we’ve already seen that DC Comics/Warner Bros. is moving ahead with their own assembly of superheros in the “Justice League” – having hired “Gangster Squad” screenwriter Will Beall to supposedly write a “dark and mature” take – and now “Spider-Man” producers Arad and Tolmach are sounding as If their ambitions are leading them towards some interconnectivity of films as well. While Arad and Tolmach are developing “Venom” as we speak, Arad claimed at a press conference over the weekend that "without giving anything away, hopefully all these worlds will live together in peace someday."

So perhaps we should stay after the credits of “The Amazing Spider-Man” for some sort of “Venom” primer? The producing pair suggest that “Venom” will be rooted in the gritty reality of the upcoming Spidey adventure, adding that Eddie Brock was ultimately a guy who was in the wrong place at the right time, but Tolmach does tease that audiences should “look for the worlds to make sense with one another." [Hollywood.com]