Woody Harrelson Eyed for ‘Venom’

By Sheryl Oh

This movie is certainly not short on memorable actors and we can only hope it turns out just as promising.

Sony continues to bulk up the cast of the Spider-Man universe spin-off film, Venom, and is said to be considering Woody Harrelson for an undisclosed role.

As far as we know, Harrelson is up for a henchman type part, although details remain few and far between as it has for much of the casting process. Aside from Tom Hardy playing the man himself, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams and Jenny Slate have boarded Venom. Of course, as is the protocol for all superhero movies these days, the element of surprise is key.

The Venom character hasn’t always made the best impression onscreen after Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 was mostly a mixed bag in terms of reception. But Venom has always held a special place in comic fans’ hearts, and Sony has been consistently trying to sell a new and improved version of the character in their third reboot of the franchise.

It’s much easier to hope for better quality storytelling after the success of Spider-Man: Homecoming. Homecoming didn’t just hinge on Peter Parker being a part of the MCU. One of the best things about the film for me was Peter’s appeal as a grounded character separate from Tony Stark’s appearance. That kind of concerted focus on characterization gave the film a lot of heart. Considering how Tom Hardy of all people signed on to play the titular character in Venom, we can perhaps expect some kind of nuanced portrayal as well.

Harrelson certainly has taken on leading roles but he also happens to be a very distinctive character actor. His contributions to Venom could be very valuable, as a result. Henchman roles are normally fairly blank slates, and pretty much soly serve aesthetic purposes if familiar enough faces like Harrelson’s are cast. But having established himself as a memorable addition to other blockbuster franchises like The Hunger Games, Harrelson could be a sensible choice for some random henchman anyway. He would at least probably elicit some laughs from the audience.

For now, Harrelson has featured in Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri, which has received much critical acclaim and roped in several awards nominations in the past couple of weeks. He has also wrapped a role in Solo: A Star Wars Story which is due out at the end of next year, making 2018 a big pretty big year for him. Venom will hit theaters on October 8, 2018.

The article Woody Harrelson Eyed for ‘Venom’ appeared first on Film School Rejects.