How Venom is expanding Spider-Man’s cinematic web

Venom will be the first movie in a planned Spider-Man cinematic universe. — Sony Pictures

IN an edit bay on the Sony Pictures lot, Ruben Fleischer looked outwardly calm but was clearly feeling some heat. At 43, the director was just weeks away from the release of the biggest film of his career – the dark comic-book movie Venom, which Sony is banking on to launch a series of interconnected films that will expand on the world of the studio’s marquee comic-book star, Spider-Man.

Fleischer, who directed Zombieland, 30 Minutes Or Less and Gangster Squad, said: “This is the most predominant film genre so you’re under a bigger magnifying glass. That’s a new experience for me.”