Whether you think the film is good or bad, Sony/Columbia Pictures’ Venom is a mega-hit. It didn’t come without its problems, which really started when news hit that the studio would force a PG-13 out of what we all thought would be getting an R-rating. Interestingly, the biggest issues with the Spider-Man spinoff had nothing to do with the violence, but the sloppy filmmaking from the writing all the way to the post work.
Now that it’s a blockbuster, a sequel is inevitable. And for those who have seen the film (spoiler warning), it ends with the introduction of Woody Harrelson‘s Cletus Kasady, who will become Carnage. While Venom slowly became an antihero in the Marvel comics, Carnage was way more vicious. The homicidal maniac is a serial killer that’s bonded with a symbiote, which makes him way more deadly than Venom. How do you raise the stakes in a Venom sequel with Carnage if we can’t even see Venom biting off someone’s head?
It’s easy to get ahead of ourselves and declare this a problem – shit, I’m doing it right now – but from a business perspective, it makes sense to keep these PG-13, especially when they’re all set to live within Spider-Man‘s universe.
Sony producers Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach explain their thought process to Collider and while it does feel excuse-heavy, they make some sense. It’s also hard to disagree with them when Venom just absorbed all the money in the box office this past weekend (if it had failed, we’d be having a very different conversation right now).
When grated with another question about a potential R-rated Marvel film at Sony, Arad exclaimed, “Again, what I said to you before, it depends on the story. If the success of the story depends on being R-rated…” Tolmach interjects, “Then it could be, yeah.”
“Then, of course, we can do it,” adds Arad. “But at least for me, I have grandkids, kids, whatever, all these things, and some of these movies, they’re dying to see. You know? As I took my grandson, seven, to the recording session of Venom. And he had the time of his life.”
Tolmach adds: “I don’t think there’s a rule written somewhere in stone that all of them have to be one thing, alright? I think what Avi’s saying is right. I think we’ve all talked about, ‘Well, if one of these presents itself in a way…’ Look, we have all seen, as you’ve said, the R-rated versions of these movies now working. So, that’s out there. You can succeed to a staggering degree.”
They make note that it’s important not to compromise the character. I think it’s debatable what they did with Venom, but then again it does work fine without him being as on-screen violent. With that said, they claim Carnage’s backstory isn’t one that needs an R-rating, even though he’s a murderer.
“You know what? When you hear Venom…forget Venom. When you hear, Carnage, the only thing you can think of is R,” explains Arad. “But, if you know his story, if you really know the comic, there’s no R here. He’s a tortured soul. It’s not about what he does, because we never have to show the knife going from here to there, and the blood is pouring. What you have to show is, what is the motivation? Was he born like that, or it’s someone we should feel for, because if you are succeeding to make a villain someone you can feel for, jackpot.”
I dunno, man.
Digressing, Venom 2 is a long way out, but next up is Morbius, the “Living Vampire” who will be played by Jared Leto. The duo confirms that’s it’s next and will be shooting around February of 2019.
In the film, Leto is playing a scientist who, in trying to find a cure for a rare blood disease, accidentally transforms himself into a living vampire. Though disgusted by his own bloodlust, he chooses to prey upon criminals he deems unworthy of life.
Safe House director Daniel Espinosa will bring the Living Vampire to life.
