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Breaking Down the Venom Teaser Trailer


The first teaser trailer for Sony’s upcoming Spider-Man spinoff Venom is here, and honestly, that’s the exact word many fans are using to sum it up: Teaser. However, just because we only get a small taste of what’s in store come October doesn’t mean there isn’t anything to unpack.

Follow along with us as we break down the Venom teaser trailer:

  1. Venom’s Stomping Grounds

    It’s been fairly well-documented that Venom will be influenced by the fan-favorite Lethal Protector miniseries by David Michelinie, Mark Bagley, Ron Lim, and Sam DeLarosa, and we get further confirmation of this right off the bat. In that story, Venom ditches NYC and takes up residence in San Francisco, where he operates as an anti-hero rather than a villain. This shot of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge helps reaffirm the film’s setting, as well as what fans can expect in terms of the plot.

  2. ‘Maybe it’s a Breakup’

    During Tom Hardy’s monologue, when he mentions a breakup, we get a shot of Michelle Williams, who plays Eddie Brock’s ex-wife in the comics, Anne Weying. However, that’s not her only significant role in the comics. At one point, she bonded with the Venom symbiote to become She-Venom (not a very clever name). It will certainly be interesting to see if the character in the film follows in the footsteps of her comic-book-counterpart.

  3. ‘A Death’

    As we hear Hardy say “a death,” we get a shot of someone pulling back a sheet to expose a dead body. It’s unclear who the unlucky victim is, but given the fact that Venom didn’t shy away from killing in Lethal Protector, it’s possible we could be looking at some of his handiwork.

  4. ‘An Accident’

    In the next shot, as Hardy refers to an accident, we see an emergency crew investigating what appears to be a crashed extraterrestrial ship. This would certainly fall in line with the crux of the Venom origin story, at least in terms of the symbiote arriving on Earth from another planet. Nevertheless, without Spider-Man, Sony will have to make some significant adjustments to the rest of the origin, as the symbiote originally bonded to Brock only after being rejected by Spidey.

  5. Enter Symbiote

    Before long, we get our first (and only) real look at the actual symbiote, which is housed within a sealed canister. The man behind it, of course, is Dr. Carlton Drake, played by Rogue One’s Riz Ahmed. In the comics, Drake is the leader of the Life Foundation, which is the group that uses Venom to create five additional symbiotes in the aforementioned Lethal Protector miniseries. From what we see in the trailer, it’s possible Drake ends up conducting an experiment with the symbiote that turns Brock into Venom in the first place.

  6. Mid-Transformation?

    Although we never actually see Brock as Venom in the trailer, this shot might be the closest thing to it. When Hardy extends his left arm, it looks as though his grey sweatshirt is being engulfed by a black substance, so it’s possible the symbiote could be taking over.

  7. Who – or What – Causes This?

    Immediately following Brock’s transformaybe, we see a group of office workers seemingly being hit with some sort of telekinetic blast. From the way the trailer’s cut, the implication is that Brock is the one who causes this, but telekinesis isn’t one of Venom’s powers. That being said, this is most likely a bit of clever editing, which is commonplace in trailers.

  8. Definitely Mid-Transformation

    Before, we saw what might have been a Venom transformation, but here, we see what’s absolutely one, as evidenced by the black streaks working their way up Brock’s neck. Judging by his reaction, this could be when he first bond’s with the symbiote, as he appears to be in quite a bit of pain.

    Venom hits theaters October 5.

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