THR is reporting Tom Hardy , who was nominated for an Oscar for his work in The Revenant , is in final negotiations to star in Venom , while Ruben Fleischer , best known for directing Zombieland , is final negotiations to helm the movie project centering on one of Spider-Man’s signature villains. The project is one of Sony’s top priorities and the studio is not wasting time as the movie is set to open Oct. 5, 2018. Venom is to usher in a host of movies from Sony's Marvel and Spider-Man-based universe of characters. Sony is rebooting its Marvel-based slate with this summer’s Spider-Man: Homecoming and Venom is a key title in its slate. The studio is also developing a Silver Sable/Black Cat project among other characters from the Spider-Man stable. Venom has been one of Marvel’s top villains and a Spider-Man fixture since he was introduced in 1988, created by writer David Michelinie and artists Todd McFarlane and Mike Zeck. The character is an alien symbiote that needs a...