Venom Has a New Explanation for How the Symbiotes Come to Earth
When the first trailer for Venom landed, we were curious about the way in which Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) would come into contact with the symbiote that transforms him into a superhuman. Peter Parker was the main culprit for bringing the alien lifeform to Earth, but Spider-Man is absent from this iteration. IGN went straight to the source to ask VFX supervisor Paul Franklin what is up with the intergalactic goo.
In the comic version, Spider-Man takes the symbiote’s power for a test run but realizes that despite some upgrades, there are some major drawbacks. After discarding of the creature, Eddie Brock eventually fuses with the symbiote and begins his journey as Venom. So without Spidey, how does the lifeform make its way to our planet? We had deciphered from the trailer that it had perhaps crash landed here, but that isn’t the case. The symbiotes had a much more deliberate entrance.
“We see, at the beginning of the film, the moment when the symbiotes are collected up by a Life Foundation space probe, which finds them on a comet drifting through space, approaching Earth. And the space probe is out there looking for signs of life, and they can’t believe their luck. There’s life signals everywhere, all across this asteroid,” explained VFX supervisor Paul Franklin.
The symbiotes are more like parasites unless you consider granting the host body rapid healing and lethal strength as perks. Once they take hold, Brock has some trouble controlling the alien within. Production Designer Oliver Scholl praised Hardy’s performance. Of particular interest in this film is an unedited look at the way that Tom Hardy portrays Venom taking over his body before digital effects have been added. He truly looks like he has lost control of his limbs.
“Tom, it’s imagination. It’s like trying to imagine this creature in yourself. He’s very experimental about it,” Scholl said. “Seeing on set Tom finding Venom or trying to find him inside and bring him out. Playing this schizophrenic personality, that’ really what the actor brings to the project.”
In addition to Hardy’s mesmerizing performance, stunts, blue screens, witness cameras, and a pneumatic lift all went into transforming Eddie Brock into Venom. These videos provide an incredible look behind the scenes at one of the most ambitious films of the year.
Venom takes over theaters October 5.
Featured Image: Venom Courtesy: Sony Pictures
