Venom is an upcoming 2018 superhero sci-fi horror film based on the Marvel Comics character of the same name, produced by Columbia Pictures and distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing. It is intended to be the first film in Sony's Marvel Universe (SMU). The film is being directed by Ruben Fleischer, from a script by Scott Rosenberg & Jeff Pinkner and Kelly Marcel, and stars Tom Hardy in the title role.
Development on a Venom film, a spin-off from the Spider-Man film franchise, first began with producer Avi Arad in 2007. After going through various iterations, an R-rated standalone film was confirmed in March 2017. It will begin a new shared universe featuring the Marvel characters from the Spider-Man universe to which Sony owns the film rights, though will not be connected to Spider-Man: Homecoming nor the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Rosenberg and Pinkner were set to write, with Fleischer and Hardy added in May 2017. Filming began in October 2017, in Atlanta and New York City.
Venom is set to be released in the United States on October 5, 2018.