The Kidd here...
It's safe to say those rumors of Josh Trank helming a FANTASTIC FOUR reboot for 20th Century Fox have officially been clobbered now that it appears the CHRONICLE director may be edging closer to giving Venom new life for Sony.
Per the L.A. Times, Trank is currently in talks with the studio about reviving the VENOM spin-off that's been in development since 2007, right around the time he made his first appearance in Sam Raimi's final SPIDER-MAN film. Gary Ross was originally signed onto direct the film that would have cast Venom more an an antihero than a villain, but when the project ultimately stalled, he was onto other things.
The duo of Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese were at one time tasked with the responsibility of penning the script before it was passed onto Jacob Estes, but it looks as if a new writer will be selected for a whole new take on the Venom character. Also, Topher Grace wouldn't be expected to return to the character, so there'd be someone new to cross paths with the symbiote.
There's always been love for Venom by a certain segment of Marvel fans, and this could conceivably work. Granted, his inclusion in SPIDER-MAN 3 wasn't everything we had dreamed of, and, much like the rest of the film turned out to be a disappointment (outside of that transformation in the church), but Venom was really forced upon Raimi by Marvel Studios, who were trying to appease the fans. The end result was a character who felt completely wedged into the film.
This is the perfect time for Sony to move ahead with a Venom spin-off if it's going to happen. They're taking their fresh approach to Spider-Man later this summer, and, if you're going to go ahead in restarting characters you've already done in previous films, doing them all around the same time makes some sense.
-Billy Donnelly
"The Infamous Billy The Kidd"
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