Riz Ahmed’s star has really taken off in the last year. He racked up two Emmy nominations (one forThe Night Ofand another forGirls), landed one of the lead roles inStar Wars: Rogue One, and his career is showing no signs of slowing down.THRreports that the actor is now in talks to join Sony’s upcomingSpider-Manspinoff,Venom. The film will starTom HardywithRuben Fleischer(Gangster Squad) directing.
Early reports speculated that Ahmed was in talks to play the villain Carnage, but THR reports that while he did read for that role, he’s now up for another part since script changes have been made. Additionally, whatever this role may be, other actors who read for it includedMatt Smith,Pedro Pascal, andMathias Schoenartsaccording toVariety’s Justin Kroll. That’s a pretty diverse range of actors, and while they’re all talented, it’s interesting that they’re all up for the same role.
It will be interesting to see how all this casting shakes out, and how quickly everything comes together.Venomis due out in a little over a year, and it will likely require some intensive post-production since protagonist Eddie Brock in his Venom form will need to be heavily CGI and if Carnage is the villain, he’s likely CGI as well. That’s not to say doing these kind of effects is impossible in the span of a year, but it will certainly be a crunch.
I’m not well versed enough inVenomlore to know his major supporting characters, so if you have any thoughts on who Ahmed could be playing (assuming it’s not Carnage), sound off in the comments section. Ahmed recently wrapped filming on the adaptation ofThe Sisters BrothersstarringJake Gyllenhaal,Joaquin Phoenix, andJohn C. Reilly.
Venomopens August 23, 2025.
