Topher Grace is excited to see Tom Hardy’s take on the movie didn’t work, and while he wanted to make another movie to bring the series back to form, he eventually walked away from a planned fourth movie. The franchise was instead rebooted with The Amazing Spider-Man.
Raimi has also itted that while he had relative creative control on the second movie, withTopher Grace was thus cast as rival reporter Eddie Brock who eventually transforms into Venom, but the character’s lackluster treatment in the finale just served to make fans of the character angry.
Related: Thomas Haden Church Still Thinks Topher Grace Was A Great Venom
Tom Hardy’s Venom movie will be the first big screen appearance by the character since Spider-Man 3 and promises to be a much darker take. Grace himself remains a big fan of the character and told Inverse (via JoBlo) in a new interview that he’s just as excited about Tom Hardy’s take as everyone else.
To me — I truly mean this — I think Tom is the guy to play that role. I’m thrilled to watch it as a fan. I really mean that. I think he’s just the best dude.
Grace also reflected on how Raimi chose to portray the character, and how he’s keen to see a more traditional portrayal of Venom.
I understand Sam’s interpretation, which was to do a dark version of Tobey [Maguire]’s character. I was thrilled because I was such a fan of the character, but I was aware of how it was different from what I had grown up reading. I thought it was cool, but I’m really excited to see [Tom Hardy’s version]. That’s the character I grew up with.
The actor’s gracious - pun somewhat intended - ing of the Venom torch to Hardy is nice to see, as is his genuine excitement to see the character portrayed as he should be. Raimi has stated many times he just didn’t get the appeal of the character, and while he tried his best to make him part of the story, it was clear his heart wasn’t in it. Venom was actually earmarked for a spinoff following Deadpool’s Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick – but the negative reaction to his appearance in Raimi's threequel halted those plans.
While the initial teaser for Venom was met with a muted response, recent previews have gotten fans stoked for the movie. It promises to be an action-packed hybrid between a comic book movie and a horror flick, and one that won’t sand off the harsher edges of the material.
More: Tom Hardy Explains How The Venom Voice Is Created
Source: Inverse
