Sony Pictures Animation is venturing into new territory with its popular Venom franchise, developing the studio’s first animated feature based on the Marvel anti-hero. The project, announced , taps Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, the directing duo behind last year’s successful reboot of Final Destination: Bloodlines, to helm the animated film.
The move comes as the live-action Venom films, starring Tom Hardy, have shown diminishing returns at the box office. While 2018’s Venom grossed an impressive $856 million worldwide, subsequent installments, 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage ($506.8 million) and 2024’s Venom: The Last Dance ($478.9 million), saw a decline in performance. An animated take on the character offers Sony a chance to refresh the property and potentially reach new audiences.
Lipovsky and Stein’s involvement is particularly noteworthy. Their work on Final Destination: Bloodlines proved their ability to revitalize a long-running franchise. The film not only became the highest-grossing entry in the Final Destination series, with a worldwide gross of $315 million, but also garnered the best reviews the franchise has ever received. This success has positioned them as in-demand filmmakers in Hollywood, leading to their engagement on projects like the upcoming Gremlins film with Chris Columbus.
Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach, who were instrumental in producing the live-action Venom movies, are expected to produce the animated feature, though the specifics of their roles are still being determined. Tom Hardy, who has become synonymous with Eddie Brock/Venom, is also understood to be involved in some capacity, but it remains unclear whether he will reprise his role as a voice actor or take on a producing role.
Currently, no writer is attached to the project. Sony Pictures Animation is reportedly assembling a writers room to develop the script and explore potential storylines. This suggests the project is still in its early stages, with the narrative direction yet to be fully defined. The studio is likely weighing options ranging from a direct continuation of the live-action trilogy’s storyline to a completely fresh take on the character and his world.
The character of Venom, created by writer Bill Michelinie and artist Todd McFarlane, first appeared as a villain in 1988’s Amazing Spider-Man #300 before gaining a dedicated following and eventually receiving his own solo comic book series in 1993. He made his big-screen debut in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace, but it was Hardy’s portrayal that truly cemented Venom’s place in modern pop culture.
Sony’s broader strategy with its Marvel properties, beyond the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man films produced in collaboration with Marvel Studios, has seen mixed results. While Venom proved to be a significant success, other attempts to build a shared universe around Spider-Man characters, such as Morbius and Madame Web, have faced critical and commercial challenges. The animated Spider-Verse films, however, have been a critical and commercial triumph for Sony Pictures Animation, demonstrating the potential of animated storytelling within the Marvel universe.
The success of the Spider-Verse films, with their innovative animation style and compelling narratives, likely influenced Sony’s decision to pursue an animated Venom movie. Animation allows for greater creative freedom and the opportunity to explore the character’s unique abilities and the otherworldly nature of the symbiote in visually dynamic ways. However, animation is a time-consuming process, and with a script still in development, audiences should expect a considerable wait before the animated Venom reaches the big screen.
Lipovsky and Stein’s recent work on Final Destination: Bloodlines demonstrates their ability to blend horror and action, elements that are central to the Venom character. Their involvement suggests Sony is aiming for an animated film that retains the darker, more intense aspects of the Venom mythos while also appealing to a broader audience. The duo are represented by Verve, Ground Control and Lichter Grossman.
