It's looking like Tom. Haden Church will be playing Venom in Spider-Man 3

http://www.joblo.com/index.php?id=6961

Remember those rumors late last week that Chloe Sevigny might be starring as the villain, Black Cat, in SPIDER-MAN 3? Well check that. In a surprise announcement this morning, Sony Pictures announced who would be playing the villain in the film and it's not Ms. Sevigny or Black Cat. Academy Award nominee Thomas Haden Church has signed on to play Spider-Man's nemesis in SPIDER-MAN 3 said director Sam Raimi. "In addition to the ongoing relationship between Peter Parker and M.J., these films are driven by the great actors who have brought our villains to life," Raimi said. "Thomas Haden Church will be a fantastic and challenging new nemesis, and we all look forward to working with him." Unfortunately it was not confirmed who Church would be starring as. While this is not confirmed, JoBlo.com sources have whispered in my ear that Church will indeed be starring as Eddie Brock/Venom. They certainly do bear a resemblance and it makes the most sense to have Venom (and/or Carnage) in SPIDER-MAN 3 as the villain.

Venom came to be after Spider-Man returned to Earth after the first Secret War with a new black costume. Once Spidey learned the costume was actually an alien symbiote trying to bond with his body, he jettisoned it and returned to his classic red and blue duds. Brock, who despised Spider-Man, accidentally found the costume/symbiote and the alien sensed his anger toward the web-slinger and they bonded created the villainous Venom. Most interestingly, because of their former bond, Spider-Man's "spidey sense" is rendered useless against Venom. Another actor, R.C. Everbeck, made a brief cameo (that was mostly cut) in the original SPIDER-MAN but since only geeks like me know something as pointless as that, don't expect the producers to try and explain this. Again, while it has been confirmed Thomas Haden Church will star, it HAS NOT been confirmed yet that he will star as Venom. That's just what we're hearing here at JoBlo headquarters. (Proving there are two sides to every story, AICN says they're hearing it might be Sandman and not Venom.) More on this as it develops... UPDATE - A few readers have written in to point su towards a report in a local New York newspaper that says, in a profile of SPIDER-MAN 3 f/x artist Tim Phoenix, Venom and Man-Wolf will be the villains in the film.

Church




Eddie Brock/Venom




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I'm pleasantly surprised if Venom ends up being the baddie in this one. Raimi had apparently dissed him in the past. If Venom ends up being in it it's a big tip of the hat to the younger portion of the Spidey fanbase, people in their 20's and younger who grew up with Venom as the biggest villain in Spidey comics and to most of us the coolest.

(which I guess is pretty easy since they seem to be ignoring you . . .)

Bombtrack, I really dug your post. I did not know that and found it very interesting. I also dug your background info. Well done.

Thomas Hayden Church is an excellent actor - I'm looking forward to Spiderman 3!

Damn, I was really hoping the villain would be Rocket Racer or Stiltman or the Grizzly or maybe a few randomly chosen clones.

Or they could have gone the Goblin route, brought back Harry as Green Goblin II, Hobgoblin, Demogoblin, and, of course, Hemoglobin.

And I wonder if Man Wolf will get his powers from moonrocks? I suspect our science has probably shown this is not the effect moonrocks have on people . . . or has it???

Oh well, at least Spiderman won't be fighting Gwen Stacy's hyper-aged superpowered children . . . (yeah, somehow this shit actually happened a few months ago, apparently they let just anybody think of new storylines now).

but there are far fewer people who would want Sandman as the main villain than there are people who'd want Venom.

He played George in George of the Jungle 2

Thomas played Lyle van de Groot, and here's his picture



And he even looks more like Eddir Brock

I have those comics stashed here somewhere.

that the next one would have Venom. He'd make a bad ass villain.

I was a bit worried though at the end of Spidey 2 when they showed the cheesy Green Goblin mask. I though DeFoe is a cool actor, but the costume sucked. I thought they did a much better job with Doc Oc. Also, did ya notice the professor Peter runs into on campus has one arm? Maybe the Lizard will make an appearance in the third film.

but I thought he still had both is arms.

I'm quite delighted to hear that they are going to put off doing the Goblin again and are going with Venom.

I was expecting the Lizard to be the secondary "villain" in #3. Getting Man-Wolf is a bit of a surprise.

I'm hoping they'll also spend some time in #3 foreshadowing the Harry/Goblin reprise for Spiderman 4. Maybe they can get the Lizard in then.

The visual effects with Venom as the villain are going to be cool as hell.

Doc Oc was the PERFECT visual SF movie villian, and I was very happy that Hollywood waited so long, until they had the tech to bring him to the big screen...

But honestly, they blew their load with S2.
Can ANY Spidey-villian even come close to the visual impact of Otto Octavious? NO.

Long arguement SANE: NO!

The Spiderman franchise beat the odds with the second film equalling the first, and the awesome digial rendering of Doc Oc deserves ALOT of the credit.

But if this info is true, then Spidey3 is gonna SUCK!

The relationship between Peter and Harry, as it was left hanging in spidey2, is fodder for another 2 GREAT films!

But the notion of introducing another villian for S3...I am sad. It's gonna be Alien all over again!
Alien was great, ALIENS was better...and then A3 sucked ass!

Spidey3 needs to be about Peter and Harry...no others need apply.
If they hire another "star", then I will say it now: IT SUCKS!

Mark my words, and write it on your calender: New Villian means that Spidey3 = Batman4, or maybe even StarWars1!

But not a big step....