Sam Raimi’s first future Venom, Eddie Brock. The first Spider-Man movie was groundbreaking as a superhero film, successfully balancing verisimilitude, naturalistic characters, and unsured faithfulness to the comic source material. Unsurprisingly, the film is packed with Easter eggs and homages to the Spider-Man comics, but it nearly had a brief role for one of Spider-Man’s future villains, played by RC Everbeck.
The Sam Raimi version of Eddie Brock first appeared in Spider-Man's iconic black suit, and Brock learned that the two most loathed figures in his life were one and the same.
But Raimi's plans for Venom's host were almost very different. Spider-Man cast RC Everbeck as Eddie Brock for some brief footage, as revealed by the actor on Twitter. According to Everbeck, he shot footage for three days, and Raimi greatly approved of his performance, yet the footage was, unfortunately, cut due to the film being too long. The footage still exists but is unavailable for public viewing. Although Everbeck’s Eddie Brock didn’t appear in Spider-Man, he is mentioned in the film, acknowledging how close he came to an early role before his turn to villainy but also establishing a weird Spider-Man 3 plot-hole. In that movie, Brock is the new guy, as Peter Parker's photography rival, which contradicted the line in Raimi's first Spider-Man movie confirming Eddie was already actively working for the Bugle:
"Eddie's been on it for weeks, but he can barely get a glimpse of him!"
Spider-Man 2 video game, which added characters and plot lines to the Raimi continuity, Robbie also mentions Eddie to Peter when giving him an assignment. This shows that, while Eddie didn’t appear in person until Spider-Man 3, he was intended to have a consistent presence in Raimi’s Spider-Man universe.
When Eddie finally appears in Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace, he’s introduced as the “new guy” at the Daily Bugle, causing the continuity snarl. If Eddie had been taking pictures for the Daily Bugle well before Peter began his freelance work, how could he be the new guy? Ultimately, Spider-Man 3 retconned 2002's mention of "Eddie" through omission, and Grace's Eddie Brock was introduced anew to become Venom. The deleted scene explains the confusion.
Raimi’s first Spider-Man film also included a reference to Dr. Curt Conners, another supervillain from the comics who later appeared in person in Spider-Man 2. Conners never became The Lizard in the films, but his transformation occurred in the Spider-Man 3 video game, though Conners returned to human form thanks to Spider-Man’s help. Sam Raimi was well-versed in Marvel Comics lore, and his many references and call-forwards to famous characters and storylines in the Spider-Man trilogy reflected this, including Eddie Brock’s cut footage from the 2002 film.
