Although the biggest obstacle to making a movie for the "Deadly Protector" has been overcome by creating an origin story that exists without relying on Spider-Man, the film still seems to be unable to exist as a standalone entity.

One of the biggest dangers facing the upcoming movie Venom is that the movie seems too obsessed with the development of the shared universe : whether it is building Sony's own spider series universe or connecting with Marvel Cinematic Universe .

Although the biggest obstacle to making a movie for the "Deadly Protector" has been overcome by creating an origin story that exists without relying on Spider-Man , the movie still seems to be unable to exist as a standalone entity.

This movie is about two characters who distrust each other (Reporter Eddie Brooke and Venom Symbiosis), who become very powerful through the union of mutual dependence. This seems to be the case with Venom, Sony chose to develop it initially to build its own superhero movie world, competing with Warner Bros. and Marvel Studios .

Most of the comic adapted movies planned by Sony in the next few years will focus on the anti-hero and super villain associated with Spider-Man, while Marvel doesn't want these characters very much and think they are not popular. So "Venom" is a test of the success of this type of movie.

Sony currently still has the copyright of film adaptation of more than 900 Marvel characters.

Now, however, Sony seems to be trying to be eclectic. Although Sony seeks cooperation with Marvel due to its poor box office reputation, it also firmly leaves behind "Venom"; the agreement between Sony and Marvel Studios (allowing Spider-Man to be introduced to MCU "Captain America: Civil War" and subsequent movies) has achieved great success, which makes Sony seem more willing to accept cooperation.

But at the same time, it still leads to some contradictory things, that is, there is no Venom related settings in the MCU, or like the Marvel TV series produced by Netflix, even if it is set in the same universe, you can't expect to see "Captain America" ​​and "Darkward (also translated as Daredevil " soon. This will also leave nowhere for all movies that were originally intended to follow Venom.

"Venom" is trying to build a movie universe

Regarding whether Sony's superhero movie universe is set in the MCU, this is still a big question that no one knows the answer. Venom is the first attempt in a new series of films and a severe test of whether a movie with an independent anti-hero theme can succeed in the current market. Whether the success of the

series of movies depends largely on whether "Venom" can succeed. Although " Deadpool " has made a breakthrough in anti-hero movies, it has to be said that he has the long-term preparation of the X-Men and the blessing of violent and bloody.

If Venom is officially established as an MCU movie, then the significance of this success will be diluted. In other words, the results of this bold attempt will become blurred. You can't confirm whether this is the victory achieved by the Spider-Man villain or the victory achieved by the MCU.

In fact, Sony currently has another comic-adapted movie in production: "Morbius: The Living Vampire". It lets Jared Leto play the role of a scientist who turns himself into a bat-like monster through experiments in treating blood diseases.

Home yet, Sony once devoted himself to filming a theft-themed movie "Silver and Black (or, Silver Silver and Black Cat, Silver and Black)", starring the "Cat Thief" female anti-hero Black Cat and a mercenary codenamed "Silver and Black".

However, this plan has been abandoned. Sony is clearly considering making independent movies for the two characters, as well as solo movies based on characters such as "jackpot (Jack Prize), "Silk (Spider Silk)" and "Nightwatch".

in the comics Mary Jane said in the first conversation with Peter: "Face it, Tiger! You just hit the jackpot" . Since then, Mary Jane has called Peter tiger.

As Spider’s most famous girlfriend (he does have a lot of girlfriends), Mary Jane has many stories waiting for us to understand.

Spider-Silk is a female version of Spider-Man, whose abilities are greater than Spider-Man himself. And she is a Korean-born girl born in the United States.

Nightwatch Kevin was originally a doctor, he had skills such as stealth, deformation, speeding reaction, etc., but just like Iron Man, these skills all come from his uniform. is completely an ordinary person without a uniform, oh, of course, he is a doctor.

Sony also solicits scripts for Spider-Man rivals Hunter Craven and Mystery ’s solo movies. But now, the latter one is likely to have been abandoned.

"Venom" seems to be trying to join MCU

When all of the above characters first appeared in the Spider-Man comic book, none of them could be completely dependent on their connection with Spider-Man like Venom.

For example, developing a movie centered on the hunter Craven is a very simple thing. The man's war, the wilderness "fashion reality show"; Silver Sable, an action film created for the female leaders of the professional mercenary corps will attract countless audiences. , but the venom is different. Venom's story cannot leave Spider-Man.

Unfortunately, any future movies of Sony seem to rely entirely on Venom for great success.

More unfortunately, there are many signs that Venom is trying to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe, even if it's just a proxy. The main basis for is that the senior management of Sony Productions is that they are using this method to get "Venom" to obtain the level of pg-13.

If a movie is aimed at adult audiences, such as Deadpool and Logan , it will be closer to the theme and tone of a horror movie than a standard superhero movie. Although film companies usually aim to gain audiences of all ages, the above R-level comic-revised movies are box office blockbusters, which proves that superhero movies do not require children's market to achieve great success.

So, why does Sony hope that "Venom" can be reduced to pg-13? The most reasonable explanation for is that Sony really wants to have an opportunity to include its work in the MCU. This will complete the story of Venom.

But this approach is very likely to have a greater reaction to Sony , for several reasons:

First of all, this will take the risk of alienating fans of the original work. Fans of Venom comics usually like him more violent than Spider-Man, hoping to see the fear brought by the symbiosis in the movie. , while it can also be largely restored to the original work within the scope of the pg-13 movie, is sure to feel a little bland, especially when Venom threatens to tear off someone’s limbs, fans certainly prefer Sony to do these scenes better.

Another problem is that mimics the style of MCU will be exactly the opposite of what we have expected from Venom so far . Early trailers show that Eddie Brooke will lose control of his body and consciousness when he is taken over by an alien symbiote. This is a far cry from the more relaxed and witty Marvel Studios movies. Even in the darkest parts of the MCU, these movies seem to be primarily intended to emphasize the positive aspects of being a superhero. But Venom obviously wants to separate itself from that idealism and present something unique because he is not a superhero in the first place.

This raises another question: If Sony wants to imitate the MCU instead of doing its own movies, then what is the point of building a new superhero movie universe? people want to meet more mature superheroes, and Logan and Deadpool have proven that.

How does "Venom" avoid the troubles caused by the universe?

The key to Venom's success may be to really show "Venom" and to distinguish him from other superheroes in Marvel Comics. In the "Venom" comic, he has great similarity with the king of Atlantis Namor (Namor), that is, he "plays" a hero or villain according to the requirements of the story, while insisting on his own "justice" and having resentment towards other heroes and villains.

Then even if Marvel Studios has decided to establish a connection between the MCU and Venom, if the idea can be accurately described, it will make "Venom" stand out in the MCU.

This may also set the tone for other superhero movies Sony is developing. The connection between movies is a small thing, and building a larger framework is what Sony should do. At this point, Sony can follow the steps taken by Marvel Studios to create the first movie (Iron Man). instead of putting all the pressure on a movie, then putting the cart before the horse. In either case, it’s better to look at Venom as a movie rather than as the beginning of a larger or a part of the whole.

"Venom" will be released in the United States on October 5. Although has been less than a month, after the rumors and storm some time ago, there is still no definite news about whether it can be released in China.