A DC director has recently revealed they had at one point been in talks with Sony Pictures to helm Tom Hardy’s Venom.

Sony kicked off their universe of Spider-Man spin-offs with Venom in 2018. The film introduced Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and kicked off a franchise of similar Spider-Man spin-offs, also encompassing Jared Leto’s Morbius, with Aaron Taylor-Johnson’s Kraven the Hunter and Dakota Johnson’s Madame Web currently in the works.

‘Black Adam’ Star Dwayne Johnson Surprises Audience At First Test Screening

Venom was directed by Ruben Fleischer, with its 2021 sequel Venom: Let There Be Carnage helmed by Andy Serkis. However, Sony almost got a different superhero movie director to take on the project instead.

Venom Vs. Shazam!

David F. Sandberg, director of DC’s Shazam! revealed that he had been in talks to direct Venom around the time he started work on Shazam!, ultimately choosing the DC movie over Sony’s Marvel spin-off.

In a recent post on his Instagram story, Sandberg confirmed he had almost taken on Venom, having read the script and met with Sony to discuss the project. Ultimately, it came down to a choice between Venom and Shazam! and the director went with the DC hero.

‘Aquaman’ Star Jason Momoa Raises Awareness Of Single-Use Plastics By Shaving His Signature Locks

Sandberg revealed in his post:

“I read the script for and had a meeting about Venom but I was already going down the path of Shazam and felt that I’d rather do that than pursue Venom… I thought Venom turned out quite good though.”

It’s nice to see David F. Sandberg bore no anymosity to Venom after turning the project down. However, he probably made the right choice. While both films proved popular with fans of the characters, Shazam! enjoyed far greater critical success than Venom.

‘Shazam! 2’ Director David F. Sandberg Confirms A Cameo From First Film Actress

Here is the synopsis for David F. Sandberg’s Shazam!:

We all have a superhero inside us, it just takes a bit of magic to bring it out. In Billy Batson’s (Angel) case, by shouting out one word—SHAZAM!—this streetwise 14-year-old foster kid can turn into the adult Super Hero Shazam (Levi), courtesy of an ancient wizard. Still a kid at heart—inside a ripped, godlike body—Shazam revels in this adult version of himself by doing what any teen would do with superpowers: have fun with them! Can he fly? Does he have X-ray vision? Can he shoot lightning out of his hands? Can he skip his social studies test? Shazam sets out to test the limits of his abilities with the joyful recklessness of a child. But he’ll need to master these powers quick.

Directed by David F. Sandberg from a script written by Henry Gayden and Chris Morgan, Shazam! Fury of the Gods stars Zachary Levi, Asher Angel, Jack Dylan Grazer, Adam Brody, Ross Butler, Meagan Good, D.J. Cotrona, Grace Caroline Currey, Faithe Herman, Ian Chen, Jovan Armand, Marta Millans, Cooper Andrews, Djimon Hounsou, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu, and Helen Mirren.

Shazam! Fury of the Gods opens on March 17, 2023. Stay tuned for all the latest news on the upcoming film and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.

Source: Instagram