The acclaimed director of the first 'Spider-Man' trilogy has admitted to not loving one of the web-slinger's biggest rivals.
Ahead of his latest Marvel adventure in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness', set for release this Thursday, Sam Raimi has been looking back at his Venom creation in the Tobey Maguire-led trilogy.
Played by Topher Grace in 'Spider-Man 3', Eddie Brock Jr./Venom was one of the three villains in the over-stuffed conclusion to Raimi's generally well-received adaptation of the Marvel comics; this final film being the only one that wasn't looked at favourably by fans or critics.
While the character, and the whole film to the honest (we still get shudders remembering that Tobey Maguire dance number in the street), is often looked at as the worst Spider-Man film on screen, it did pave the way for Venom to be given a stand-alone re-do at Sony years later - with Tom Hardy now leading the franchise (still, unfortunately, receiving mixed reviews, however).
Speaking with Uproxx, Sam Raimi said his Venom wasn't given justice on screen because he just didn't warm to the character: "It was really more just that I didn’t understand the character that well. It wasn’t close to my heart.
"The best thing I like about Stan Lee and Steve Ditko’s Spider-Man is that they made relatable characters that I understand. Even if they were confused, like Norman Osborn, they still have goodness in their heart. They want them to do the right thing, or Peter Parker. Or even J. Jonah Jameson has goodness in his heart.
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"When I read about Venom, which I hadn’t read as a kid, I had to catch up on it when they wanted him to be in the movie. I didn’t recognize enough humanity within that character to be able to identify with him properly. That’s really what it boils down to."
In an interview with Collider in 2007, Raimi revealed that the previous Marvel Studios president, Avi Arad, pressured the director to include the "fan-favourite" Spidey villain in his third picture. Arad told him after the script was written: "You're not paying attention to the fans enough. You need to think about them. You've made two movies now with your favourite villains, and now you're about to make another one with your favourite villains. The fans love Venom, he is the fan favourite."
Sam Raimi's dislike for Venom continues to this day, with the director skipping both of Tom Hardy's cinematic efforts that Sony has released. However, it hasn't stopped the director from returning to superhero films. He helmed MCU's upcoming release 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness', which has been getting pretty fantastic early reviews from lucky cinemagoers over the weekend.
