The Hollywood Reporter, an extremely reputable source, is reporting that actor-turned-director Andy Serkis has met with Sony about the possibility of helming the Venom sequel, which the studio wants to get in front of cameras by November. They go on to clarify that there are several other suiters, but Serkis is an interesting name based on his transition from mo-cap actor to filmmaker.
While Serkis is known for his pioneering motion capture and performance capture acting work, he helmed last year’s non-Disney take on the Rudyard Kipling stories Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, which ended up on Netflix after being made at Warner Bros. His résumé tees him up for a movie such as Venom 2, which will be effects heavy and mix DG and performance capture technology, explains the site.
Ruben Fleischer helmed the 2018 movie but is not returning. Serkis flew to Los Angeles for meetings set by Sony brass earlier this week.
Variety adds that Bumblebee director Travis Knight and Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes, “The Exorcist”) are among the directors meeting for the coveted job on the film that has Tom Hardy set to return in the title role.
Kelly Marcel wrote the script for the sequel to the movie that also starred Michelle Williams and featured a last-minute cameo by Woody Harrelson as chief Venom villain Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage.
Watch for more news as it comes in.
