Although early reports had suggested that Sony Pictures would be going down the R-rated route with its first entry in what is being referred to as ‘Sony’s Universe of Marvel Characters‘, Variety is reporting that the upcoming Venom movie will instead look to “push the very limits of PG-13 without crossing over into a higher rating.”
According to the report, Sony executives are still hopeful that Venom and the other instalments in this new shared superhero/supervillain universe may one day cross over with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and/or the Marvel Studios-owned Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The thinking is that if Venom proved to be too dark and gory, it could prevent any possible future crossover with Spider-Man, given that the wall-crawler is a much more family friendly character, and the MCU is yet to venture beyond the PG-13 rating.
SEE ALSO: Spider-Man 3’s Topher Grace is “really excited” to see Tom Hardy as Venom
Although Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has stated on numerous occasions that Venom is completely separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Sony seems keen to ride on the back of the MCU, with producer Amy Pascal claiming that the symbiote’s solo movie exists “in the same reality” as Tom Holland’s web-slinger.
Holland himself has also stated that he’d “jump” at the opportunity to appear alongside Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, but for the time being at least, that decision appears to rest solely with Marvel Studios.
One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass characters comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector Venom.
Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland), Venom is set for release on October 5th 2018 and features a cast that includes Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson, Jenny Slate, Reid Scott, Scott Haze and Sope Aluko.
