Venom Movie: Zac Efron Reveals Eddie Brock Role

Update: APRIL FOOLS!

This week’s “Spiderman: Homecoming” trailer gave fans everything to expect about the movie in a little under two minutes. On March 3, Sony has just announced that “Neighbors” and “Baywatch” star Zac Efron is up for casting as the lead role of Eddie Brock for the “Venom” spinoff film.

Venom Movie’s Exit From Movie Purgatory

Venom has since suffered in development hell for a couple of years, as the studio’s flopped “Spider-Man” movies and the now-defunct shared universe which was planned to include “Venom,” more “Amazing Spider-Man” sequels, and a “Sinister Six” movie. Screenwriter Alex Kurtzman (“Transformers” and “Star Trek”) was initially tasked to direct “Venom,” with Drew Goddard (Marvel Netflix Series) helming “Sinister Six.”

There have been reports saying that Sony plans to relaunch “Venom” as a standalone film, separate from what the Marvel Cinematic Universe timeline and the new “Spider-Man” (Tom Holland) is sharing. The producers, however, hasn’t given any official word yet as to where and when “Venom” would fit in each of their timelines. Given how the MCU’s partnership with Sony for “Spider-Man” is turning out to be such a huge hit, it’s also very likely for the studio to do the same with “Venom.”

Efron Breaks News Via Twitter

In a report by ScreenRant, Efron’s casting news broke out through a tweet posted by Efron himself, which he subsequently deleted as Sony has yet to make the official announcement. Check out Efron’s tweet below.

Efron isn’t the first actor to accidentally reveal his casting prior to the studio’s announcement. Chris Evans (Captain America) posted a congratulatory tweet confirming Tom Holland’s “Spider-Man” casting a few weeks before Sony & Marvel made the announcement.

It’s both exciting and worrying for comic book movie fans upon learning of Efron’s casting. Some might still associate him with his roles in the previous “High School Musical” movies. But given how the actor has evolved throughout the years (particularly in the comedy genre,) it’s beginning to look like Sony’s creative attempt at slamming and owning this new untested film genre for Efron. He has won over a lot of fans through his past projects, so maybe this could be a good sign.

But with Venom getting an R rating as a sci-fi/horror movie, Efron will need to show a considerable change in his acting. True, he has starred in a few dramatic roles in the past, namely “Charlie St. Cloud” and the upcoming P.T. Barnum biopic “The Greatest Showman.” But with Eddie Brock being a twisted and tortured anti-hero, we have yet to see if Efron can turn over a new leaf, especially in the comic book movie genre.

Now that we know who will play “Venom,” it’s only a matter of time before we find out which storyline/timeline the character will exist in. Sony is suggesting that he will be entirely separate from the Marvel’s, but given the character being “Spider-Man’s” main villains, it’s still a possibility for Eddie Brock to be a part of the MCU.

Photo via Screen Rant Twitter Screenshot