Fanboys Anonymous

In a recent interview with IGN, Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach, the producers of The Amazing Spider-Man 2, were asked about a certain symbiotic serial killer appearing in the upcoming Venom spin-off film. Though not committing to a solid "yes" or "no," the idea of including Carnage in the film as an antagonist tickled their fancy, to say the least.


"What a great idea," Arad replied. Tolmach added, "Exactly. The idea of Venom and Carnage…taking it into consideration. Watch out for this Venom movie. We are crazy excited."

Crazy, he claims? Both Venom and Carnage's characters are insane in their own rights, but I would be really grasping at straws to say Tolmach's choice of words is any indication of an answer. Evidence of Cletus Kasady's rise in The Amazing Spider-Man's extended universe, however, may be providing the answer most geeks are hoping for.

A couple of weeks ago, I reported that Beenox had revealed Kasady and Carnage's appearance in a trailer for the upcoming The Amazing Spider-Man 2 video game. Then just this last week, the film's viral Tumblr account, The Daily Bugle, posted a faux news report written by none other than Eddie Brock himself about Kasady's escape from jail and subsequent internment at Ravencroft (notably famous in the character's comic book history).

Rhino from the game (left) and Rhino from the film (right).

The last film-verse video game featured a cross-species Rhino character similar to the first film's Dr. Curt Connors/The Lizard, and since The Amazing Spider-Man 2 will feature a markedly different take on the villain, it only stands to show that the video games in no way share or extend the canon of the film-verse. Only the debut of next month's Spider-Man film will confirm if any of The Daily Bugle's faux news blogs hold any ground as legitimate extensions of the franchise's canon, thus practically confirming both Kasady and Brock's existence in the film-verse canon. There is no doubt that Carnage is being lobbied about as a popular villain choice to include in the film-verse canon, so hopefully this lobbying translates into a firm confirmation eventually.

I've had my doubts about the upcoming Venom film after Arad's rather upsetting news the last time around, and I still seriously doubt Sony will give us the R-rated film both characters deserve; but for me, I'll be happy if it turns out a satisfactory Carnage and an improvement from Spider-Man 3's Venom.

"WE WANT TO HEAR YOU SCREAM!" Are you looking forward to a Venom versus Carnage showdown on the big screen? Which comic book story arcs do you want to see adapted in the Venom film? Who are your fan casts? (Ryan Kwanten as Brock and Robert Knepper as Kasady, for me!) Comment below, follow me on Fanboys Anonymous, and follow The Venom Site for all of your symbiote news, reviews, and point-of-views!