Before found footage superhero thriller Chronicle even touched down in cinemas, there were rumblings that director Josh Trank might be in the frame to tackle 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot. But in a twist worthy of a four-colour comic book page, he is now negotiating to take on an iconic Marvel title, but not at Fox and not the Foursome. He’s been targeted for Venom.
According to the LA Times, Sony has swooped in and begun talks with Trank to take on the nasty, oozing, lizard-like alien symbiotic creature who last (dis)graced screens in 2007’s Spider-Man 3. Back then, it wasn’t exactly Sam Raimi’s favourite character, and got shoved to the sidelines in an overstuffed film with Topher Grace as the unfortunate bloke who becomes infected.
Ever since, the studio has been looking for a way to focus on the freaky, drooling one, who has a hefty fan following, even if most have concerns about whether it can carry an entire film. Jacob Estes wrote the first draft before Zombieland’s Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese were called into re-write that. Then Hunger Games writer/director Gary Ross took a stab at the idea in 2009, pitching Mr Venom as more of an antihero who defends the innocent. That didn’t seem to spark much love, and now we’re back to square one with Sony searching for a new writer.
Right now, it's still hovering in the rumour zone, but if Trank does sign on, there’s a chance he might try to recruit Chronicle co-writer and pal Max Landis, as the pair worked well together last time...