Riz Ahmed Could Be Joining Tom Hardy's Venom Film As "A Popular Marvel Character"

IMAGE VIA REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

When fans first heard Sony was moving with a Venom film without Spider-Man they were rightly questioning “well what’s the point of making it in the first place!” However, once it was announced Tom Hardy was on board to play Eddie Brock/Venom, some people began to see the promise.

Now, this film could be getting even better as Variety reveals Riz Ahmed is in early talks to play "a popular Marvel Comics character" rumoured to be the villain in this spin-off.

No one knows who this "popular character" Ahmed could play with sources close to Justin Kroll (who broke the story at Variety), Jeff Sneider (The Tracking Board) and Borys Kit (The Hollywood Reporter) stating the British actor could maybe/ maybe not be playing Carnage.

Character is not Carnage according sources close to project, does not mean Carnage is not in project

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) 10 August 2017

Insiders say Ahmed not playing Carnage though sources say he was up for it before script changes.

— Borys Kit (@Borys_Kit) 10 August 2017

UPDATED the VENOM story. Sources are torn on Riz's role, but one I trust insists it's Carnage, which Riz is believed to have auditioned for.

— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) 10 August 2017

I will say this, a lot of sources were under the impression the role was Carnage but enough told me he was not where I did take it out

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) 10 August 2017

To be honest, if we had Ahmed playing Carnage opposite Hardy’s Venom with the possibility this could be an R rated horror based superhero film, this could be something special.

IMAGE VIA SONY

Kroll also revealed on Twitter Ahmed is not the only actor up for this villainous role with former Doctor Who Matt Smith, Kingsman: The Golden Circle star Pedro Pascal and Belgian actor Matthias Schoenaerts all in contention.

Sources say Matt Smith, Pedro Pascal and Mathias Schoenarts also up for the part https://t.co/rbMCY0Quwn

— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) 10 August 2017

If Sony is serious about making this Spidey-less spin-off universe then they need to go all in and get Ahmed (who’s becoming a bigger star in Hollywood thanks to Nightcrawler, The Night Of and Star Wars: Rogue One) especially if it is Carnage.

IMAGE VIA MARVEL COMICS

If talks do break down then Pascal is the next choice, he’s known thanks to his TV work on Game of Thrones and in Netflix’s Narcos. With Kingsman looking to be a big hit this September, this could be a nice follow-up.

Meanwhile, Smith isn’t a big star in Hollywood, Netflix’s The Crown helps, he needs to do indie films and build up good, eye-catching performances there before getting these bigger roles.

As for Schoenaerts, he shouldn’t be anywhere near this role, was perfectly average in Far from the Madding Crowd, his performance in  The Bigger Splash was crap in an already dull film.

Ruben Fleischer is directing the spinoff with it set to hit cinemas on October 5, 2018.