‘Venom’ VFX Supervisor Shares Which Comics Influenced Character’s Live-Action Look

When Spider-Man’s archnemesis Venom first appeared on the big screen in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 back in 2007, the casting of Topher Grace and realization of the symbiote was not without its critics, including Venom co-creator Todd MacFarlane.

Now, over a decade later, Venom not only has his own standalone movie but one that has been a raging success at the worldwide box office. Part of that success goes to VFX Supervisor Paul Franklin and his crew at DNEG, who have brought the Venom character to life in a manner much closer to the Marvel comic books. To achieve this, Franklin and company pulled from different variations of the character and his fellow symbiotes throughout their history. Speaking to ComicBook.com, Franklin shared which comics specifically influenced their work:

“We looked at, a lot obviously, Lethal Protector, which was a big inspiration for the film in general, and that gave us something to work from. We also spent a lot of time looking at Venom: Dark Origin, a more recent interpretation of Venom. And, that is to say, what we responded to though, was the ever-changing, dynamic nature of the character.”

Franklin also mentions the importance of adopting a fresher look for the character to the screen:

“But ultimately, you have to let the thing be a little bit of its own thing for the screen, because what works on a comic book page, style wise, ostensibly two dimensional universe, doesn’t necessarily work when you transform it into an image that’s on the screen.”

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

VENOM tells the evolution story of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass character Venom! Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is a broken man after he loses everything including his job and fiancee. Just when his life is at its lowest, he becomes host to an alien symbiote which results in extraordinary superpowers – transforming him into Venom. Will these powers be enough for this new lethal protector to defeat great evil forces, especially against the far stronger and more weaponized symbiote rival, Riot?

Venom is now available on Digital and will be released on 4K Ultra HD Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, and DVD on December 18.

Source: ComicBook.com