Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is officially out for the PlayStation 5 (PS5), and Venom star Tom Hardy has thoughts about the game's take on the symbiotic villain.
While a hoard of new villains takes the spotlight in Insomniac Games' Spider-Man 2, all roads lead to the alien symbiote Venom as he takes on the role of main antagonist against Peter Parker and Miles Morales.
Voiced by Hollywood veteran Tony Todd, Venom brings the heat against Peter and Miles in the video game's main story, making the Spider-Man face their biggest challenge to date.
Tom Hardy Reacts to Spider-Man 2's Venom
Venom actor Tom Hardy took to Instagram to share his reaction to Tony Todd's portrayal of the super-villain Venom in Marvel's Spider-Man 2 on the PS5.
Sharing a picture of Todd, Hardy kept his reaction short and sweet by tagging the Spider-Man 2 star and using the word "legend" along with a fire emoji.
Hardy and Todd formed a friendship working with one another on the 2006 movie Minotaur.
Todd recently spoke with The Boston Globe about his inspirations for the role and previously working with Hardy, explaining that he went to his favorite Los Angeles comic book store after getting the role and told the staff "I need the best 10 books on Venom."
He did this instead of watching Tom Hardy's Venom movies despite Todd's history with the actor, due to the Sony-produced films being "a different medium" compared to Marvel's Spider-Man 2. He told the outlet he "wanted to go back to the roots" of the character as much as possible:
"The first thing I did was go to my favorite comic book store called the Golden Apple out here in LA. I said, 'I need the best 10 books on Venom.' They went above and beyond. I had all kinds of visual references. I didn’t want to see the movies because this is a different medium, even though I’ve worked with Tom Hardy in the past. He and I did a movie called 'Minotaur' together. I wanted to go back to the roots — the comic, the artist, the people who diligently put the pen to the paper to create these wonderful visions."
He also praised the voice director who worked with him in the voiceover booth as the pair did everything they could to make each take "even better, more fluid, more dramatic, and more menacing:"
"Once we were in the booth, I had this wonderful voice director who never let up. It was never about the first take and move on. It was about what can we do to make this take even better, more fluid, more dramatic, and more menacing, all of those flavors at once."
Todd has since shown love back towards Hardy's version of the Lethal Protector, reposting a Tweet that praised the two actors as having the best Venom voices.
Will Spider-Man 2's Venom Inspire Tom Hardy's?
While there's no question about Tom Hardy having a handle on his character after both Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Tony Todd's take on the antihero/villain could help inspire more evolution for Hardy's work on Venom 3.
While both versions are brutal and merciless, Todd's take on the character is much more on the villain side of the spectrum in comparison to Hardy's anti-hero version of Venom. Perhaps Todd's incarnation could help Hardy's character become even more vicious when he makes his return.
Currently, Venom 3 has its production halted due to the ongoing actors' strike, although fans got their first look at Hardy in action before the set was shut down earlier this summer.
And with Venom 3 being teased as the "last dance" for Hardy's character, the film's star is sure to take any inspiration he can get for this next go-round, especially with fans seemingly enjoying Tony Todd's performance.
Marvel's Spider-Man 2 is now available to play on the PS5. Venom 3 is currently slated for a July 12, 2024 release.
