Gary Ross to Direct “Venom”

Misunderstood, yet beloved, anti-hero Venom. 

Gary Ross just can’t seem to escape Spider-Man. He’s been doing a rewrite of the “Spider-Man 4″ script (btw, it feels like there’s been about 8 million rewrites of that script. Either that means they’re reallllllly getting it right or no one can get it right) and now Variety reports that Ross will direct “Venom,” a film featuring the Spider-Man villain.

But wait! Villain no more for Venom! Variety says that in the film, Venom will be transformed from pure baddie to “an anti-hero who becomes a defender of the innocent.” Ahh, the old anti-hero trick. That should work.

Venom did his bad guy turn in “Spider-Man 3,” where he was played by Topher Grace. There is no word, though, on whether Grace (who recently joined the cast of skinny men in Robert Rodriguez’s “Predators”) will return; in fact, most people seem to think it’s highly unlikely. The “Venom” film is being perceived as a complete re-do for the character, so I think you can almost definitely expect someone else. Who? No clue.

Ross, in addition to his Spidey writing duties, has also been working on a movie about cyclist Lance Armstrong, but that’s being bumped so he can rush into “Venom.” Well, that means they’ll have to announce some kind of casting soon, won’t they…?