Michelle Williams will portray Anne Weying in the upcoming Venom movie. Ruben Fleisher is directing the film, which stars Tom Hardy in the titular role. It will be based off the comic, Lethal Protector, which released in the 90’s. Sony is hoping this will be the beginning of their very own run of superhero films, though it will be without one key character: Spider-Man.
While no one has heard anything about what the story will actually be like, it will be interesting to see how it goes without that iconic character, especially since their track record suggests they still have a lot to learn and a side character is an odd choice for a lead in a film in that case. However, Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate and Woody Harrelson are all confirmed to play parts, so there is a lot of interest there.
Anne Weying being confirmed as part of the story comes after solid speculation starting back in July of this year. This rumor, however, was overshadowed by curiosity over how a film like this could work, as many people think there is no Venom without Spider-Man. There were also questions surrounding whether Venom would occur in the same universe as the current Tom Holland version of Spider-Man.
Michelle Williams sat down for an interview with Screen Rant while she was promoting her film All the Money in the World. She is excited to be a part of the project, but admits a major decision to join the project was to have the chance to collaborate with Tom Hardy:
Screen Rant: You’ve been known to pick great roles with amazing scripts and Venom’s coming up and that has so much stacked talent. You, Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed, Woody Harrelson, it amazing, so what is it about that script that’s attracting so much talent around it?
Michelle Williams: We’re having fun. Um, we’re having fun. It’s, um, well for me it’s Tom (Hardy). I just thought, well, that guy knows what he’s doing. I’m just going to go steal some of his moves, figure out what he knows. I just wanted to, you know, you’re only as good as the people you play with and I really wanted to challenge myself with him as a partner.
Sony has been doing a good job keeping as much information about the film a secret as possible, but Williams did confirm who she was portraying in the film:
Screen Rant: Is Venom comparable to anything else you’ve done previously, and what can you tell us about Anne Weying?
Michelle Williams: I’ve done one other movie where I was asked to track a tennis ball with my eyes and pretend it was a giant creature thing. Not my favorite thing in the world to do, but it is a skill set and I’m trying to learn it. And uh, she’s, geez, what can I tell you? Not too much right now.
In Lethal Protector, Weying is Venom’s ex-wife, who has apparent feelings lingering for him, though it’s more of a love/hate relationship than one of affection. She is a successful lawyer who also has a connection to Spider-Man. As her story moves forward, she become She-Venom, also known as the Bride of Venom. Her path is dark and full of turmoil.
While it is possible Sony might choose to bring her story forward right away, it seems like they will try to draw that relationship out over the course of a few films.
What do you think of Michelle Williams role in Venom? Are you excited for the film? Be sure to tell us your thoughts in the comments!