Marvel has a great lineup of films for fans of its comic book heroes in 2017 with the upcoming release of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, Spider-Man: Homecoming, and Thor: Ragnarok, all adding to the current Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Sony has also been eyeing the possibility of expanding the MCU further by producing villain-centric films, and Spider-Man's symbiote adversary, Venom, happens to be one of the characters it wants to feature.

Despite enthusiasm for the Venom-centric film however, it has been a rollercoaster for the planned film focused on the alien symbiote since it was first rumored in 2015 — with directors, producers, and writers coming and going — but Sony finally ended the speculations when it announced on March 16 that the Venom film will arrive in cinemas on Oct. 5, 2018.

Venom Film In The MCU

According to reports, the planned Venom film is not related to the upcoming Spider-Man film starring Tom Holland, but there has been no synopsis released or other clues to give fans an idea of which version of Venom we will be seeing in cinemas.

Venom vs Spider-Man

For those unfamiliar with the Spider-Man universe, Venom is the alien symbiote that bonds with its host and gives them incredible powers while they are bonded. The symbiote hitched a ride in a space shuttle returning to Earth and first bonded with Spider-Man, causing the web-slinger's costume to turn black.

Black Spider-Man and Venom first appeared in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 starring Tobey Maguire as the web-slinger and Topher Grace as Eddie Brock and Venom. Watch the video below as a reminder.

However, the Raimi production was not as well received as hoped so the Spider-Man costume was handed over to Andrew Garfield.

Unfortunately, again, The Amazing Spider-Man trilogy was also not as amazing as the studio hoped it would be, thus starting the cycle of uncertainty for Venom.

Venom Without Spider-Man

Marvel released a comic book series centered on the symbiote in 2011 but, unlike the villain we've come to associate the alien as, the comic book series binds him to Flash Thompson and allows it to be known as a hero, saving America from threats as a covert agent.

Then Marvel released a newer Venom series where it is bound to Lee Price and is back to being a villain despite its desire to be a hero.

Perhaps Sony would go in either direction, but until more information is released, only Scott Rosenberg and Jeff Pinkner know for sure since they wrote the script.