Tom Hardy "Would Do Anything" For His Venom To Meet Spider-Man

Among comic fans, this been one of the bigger questions hanging over the head of Sony's emerging Venom franchise. How much sense does it make for the symbiote to have an origin story completely divorced from Spider-Man? In terms of the source material, it's a valid question. The real-world answer, on the other hand, is a little more banal than that: It's about corporate rights issues! But that doesn't mean there aren't interested parties trying to solve that problem, as Tom Hardy himself makes clear in a recent interview.

In a much longer and wide-ranging profile with Esquire, Hardy is asked whether he's personally interested in seeing a crossover between Venom and the MCU's current Spider-Man, portrayed by Tom Holland. His answer is thoughtful and more than a little enlightening.

"I would be remiss if I wasn't trying to steer any kind of connectivity. I wouldn't be doing the job if I wasn't awake and open to any opportunity or eventuality or be excited by that. Obviously, that's a large canyon to leap, to be bridged by one person alone, and it would take a much higher level of diplomacy and intelligence, sitting down and talking, to take on an arena such as that."

It's not every day that the star of a comic book franchise is so involved in the creative process of bringing the character to life. As a producer on the Venom movies (as well as the guy who first proposed the idea of using Carnage in the first place, giving him a "story by" credit on the sequel), Hardy seems to have a personal investment in the Eddie Brock/Venom dichotomy (and also the loads of money that dichotomy brings to his front door) and, honestly, it's weirdly endearing. Hardy goes on to express his hope that the higher-ups among both studios can put their heads together and figure something out.

"Should both sides be willing, and it be beneficial to both sides, I don't see why it couldn't be. I hope and strongly, with both hands, push, eagerly, towards that potential, and would do anything to make that happen, within what's right in business. But it would be foolish not to head towards the Olympic Games if you were running 100 metres, so yeah! I want to play on that field."

Once upon a time, this sort of speculation on Tom Hardy's part would be dismissed as wishful thinking. We've since had to adjust our expectations, thanks to Marvel and Sony joining forces in an unprecedented example of studio partnership to bring the iconic web-slinger to the MCU in 2016's Captain America: Civil War. It took a complicated deal to turn Spider-Man into the next fan-favorite MCU hero and it suddenly seems within the realm of possibility to do so again with the villain/antihero Venom.

Until that day finally arrives, the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters (SPUMC) continues to expand. Hardy teases that the studio is "really, really pleased" with the upcoming Venom sequel and that only the box office success of the sequel will lead to a third film. Venom: Let There Be Carnage will chomp its way into theaters this fall.