Tom Hardy has been cast to play Venom in the spin-off movie set in the same universe as 'Spider-Man'.
Tom Hardy (c) Twitter
Hardy, 39, was announced to be taking on the titular role as one of the webslinger's greatest foes on Twitter by Sony Pictures and will be part of Sony's Marvel Universe - which exists outside of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The tweet, along with a picture of Hardy wearing a Venom T-shirt, read: "Tom Hardy is Eddie Brock in #Venom, the upcoming film from Sony's Marvel Universe releasing October 5, 2018 - production starts this fall. (sic)"
'Zombieland' and 'Gangster Squad' director Ruben Fleischer is on board to direct the British actor who will play Eddie Brock - the first character to become the alien symbiote - and the script has been penned by 'The Amazing Spider-Man 2' writers Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner.
'Venom' marks the first time a 'Spider-Man' villain will be getting their own standalone movie but the character did appear in Sam Raimi's 'Spider-Man 3' which he was played by Topher Grace.
The symbiote, created by David Michelinie and artists Todd McFarlane and Mick Zeck, was first introduced in the comic books back in 1988 and is still a fan favourite villain and has appeared in other Marvel Comics including Iron Man, Deadpool and the Hulk.
Sony had planned to release a 'Sinister Six' movie featuring Venom but made the decision to start off with a Venom adventure.
Sony and Marvel Studios reached a deal in February 2015 to allow Spider-Man - a character to which Sony bought the rights to - be introduced into the MCU, with Tom Holland cast in the role and appearing as Spidey in a cameo capacity in 'Captain America: Civil War'.
Holland, 20, makes his first feature-length outing as the wall crawler in 'Spider-Man: Homecoming', a movie which will result in profit for Sony rather than Disney owned Marvel.
It is not yet known if Holland will make an appearance in the 'Venom' film.
Tagged in Topher Grace Sam Raimi Ruben Fleischer