‘Venom’ Adds Jenny Slate to Its Eclectic Cast

You would be well within your rights to have zero interest in a solo spinoff movie for Venom, the Spider-Man villain/anti-hero who takes Spidey’s black alien costume and then uses it to wage his own war on crime (and Peter Parker). Venom’s first trip to the big-screen, in Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3, was a mess, and the character on the printed page is mostly a fantastic costume design in search of a compelling storyline. (I do like the stuff with Spidey’s childhood bully, Flash Thompson, getting the Venom suit, but we won’t be seeing that onscreen anytime soon.)

That said, I find myself more and more curious about the Venom movie every time they announce a new member of the cast surrounding Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, the dude who becomes Venom. Variety has word of another interesting addition: Obvious Child star and former Saturday Night Live cast member Jenny Slate:

Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed are also on board with Ruben Fleischer directing. Sony had no comment on the casting. Sources say Slate will play a scientist in the film.

I’m not sure who this scientist could be; the Spider-Man fictional universe is littered with scientists, of both the mad and non-mad varieties, who could serve a plot purpose in the film, either aiding Brock in his quest, or trying to take his symbiote away from him. We’ll know who she plays almost exactly one year from now, when Venom opens in theaters on October 5, 2018.