Tom Hardy is no stranger to bulking up for films, he did it for Bronson and Warrior, and he’s doing it all over again for his latest role in Venom.
Marvel’s, Venom, will see Hardy play one of Spider-man’s most iconic villains, only in a film without Spider-man himself.
According to Esquire, filming is currently under way in Atlanta and Hardy is reportedly training up to five times a week, sometimes twice a day – in MMA to prepare for the role.
His trainers, Nathan Jones and Mark Mene, shared the below video on Instagram. You’re welcome:
Although we’ll have to wait until October 2018 to see Tom in the infamous black suit, excitement is already building around this latest incarnation of Eddie Brock.
Needless to say, this tantalizing glimpse has whetted Marvel fans’ appetites.
One person commented:
Huge, huge Spider-man fan, Venom is one of my fav [sic] villains. Cant effing wait!
Another person said:
Just got chills… can’t wait!
However, with pressure mounting, Tom and the rest of the Venom cast are going to have to meet some skyscraper-high expectations.
One person warned, ‘Better not ruin the Spider-man franchise’, while another pleaded, ‘pls don’t f*ck this up’ [sic].
Some die-hard ‘Spideys’ are understandably nervous about the plot deviating from Peter Parker’s narrative to that of his shadowy nemesis.
However, if there’s one person who can capture both the menace and tragic complexities of emotionally abused Eddie Brock, it’s Tom.
Speaking about the casting choice, Ben Child from The Guardian said:
Hardy, like few of his peers, has the skill to show us the chinks of light that illuminate Brock’s dark and twisted, vengeful soul.
And he will relish having a blank canvas to work with, an opportunity that would not have been his had the actor instead chosen to replace Hugh Jackman as Wolverine.
Furthermore, there’s plenty of weight to Eddie’s character which makes him much more than a simple comic-book villain.
Rejected by his father, Eddie is plagued by anger and depression – he originally showed remarkable talent as a journalist before facing disgrace and dismissal after wrongly outing the Sin-Eater murderer.
It was Peter Parker in his Spider-Man persona who was the one to capture the notorious serial killer, fuelling Eddie’s obsessive, vengeful feelings.
Much like Peter, Eddie’s powers are forced on him by external forces – while contemplating suicide at a church, the symbiote bonds with him, giving him formidable powers comparable to that of Spider-Man, as well as shape shifting abilities.
We haven’t seen tongue nor fang of Venom for a decade, when he appeared in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, and there’s still so much untapped depth to explore.
Voted number 33 on Empire‘s 50 Greatest Comic Book Characters, it’s clear there’s much more to the alien symbiote than his frightening appearance and penchant for violence:
Arguably Spider-Man’s biggest nemesis, Venom, is the comic-book equivalent of a movie boogeyman like Freddy Krueger – he’s meant to be terrifying and villainous, but readers thought he was so cool that eventually the symbiote became less obviously evil (he always tries never to hurt bystanders), appearing in his own title.
Venom is set to be released on October 5th 2018!
