‘Venom’: Why Riot Was Chosen Over Carnage For Film’s Villain

With Venom now officially in theaters, fans are not only getting a chance to see Academy Award-nominee Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, but they are also going to see Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake – or Riot. Riot serves as the primary antagonist in the film, and was ultimately the preferred choice over fan-favorite villain Carnage.

Director Ruben Fleischer recently revealed why the team opted to use Riot instead of Carnage as the film’s primary antagonist:

“I think, you know, there’s a certain symbiote spawn that I think fans are most excited to see. So that one was off the table. Hopefully at some point in the future they will. Um, so we wanted to save kind of the most anticipated one for the future. And not just that, but because we really wanted this movie to be about Venom. And so, it was just honestly kind of like, who’s the coolest looking spawn who isn’t that one? The most badass, you know? That’s where Riot came from. He’s the biggest of the Life Foundation symbiotes, he’s got that gun metal grey. I don’t want to say it was purely an aesthetic decision, but the aesthetics definitely played a big part.”

In terms of how cool and badass it can look, Riot certainly has a fascinating design. Aesthetically, the film certainly soars in that department.

What did you think of Riz Ahmed as Riot? Do you think that the creative team behind the film made the right decision in choosing Riot instead of Carnage as this film’s primary villain? Will we ever see this iteration of the story explore Carnage in the future? Sound off in the comments below, and be sure to continue following Heroic Hollywood for all the latest news regarding Venom and more!

Directed by Ruben Fleischer from a script by Jeff Pinkner & Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel, the film stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott, Jenny Slate, Ron Cephas Jones, and Woody Harrelson.

One of Marvel’s greatest and most complex characters takes center stage as Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) becomes the host for the alien symbiote Venom. As a journalist, Eddie has been trying to take down the notorious founder of the Life Foundation, genius Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed) – and that obsession ruined his career and his relationship with his girlfriend, Anne Weying (Michelle Williams).

Upon investigating one of Drake’s experiments, the alien Venom merges with Eddie’s body, and he suddenly has incredible new superpowers, as well as the chance to do just about whatever he wants. Twisted, dark, unpredictable, and fueled by rage, Venom leaves Eddie wrestling to control dangerous abilities that he also finds empowering and intoxicating. As Eddie and Venom need each other to get what they’re looking for, they become more and more intertwined — where does Eddie end and Venom begin?

Venom is now playing in theaters.

Source: CBR