Spider-Man: Homecoming Star Wants to Become Agent Venom
At last, Spider-Man has returned home to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, joined by his family, his friends, and even his bullies. In Spider-Man: Homecoming starring Tom Holland, actor Tony Revolori (The Grand Budapest Hotel) plays Flash Thompson, Peter Parker’s high school rival who tries to one-up him on their academic decathlon team. But in an interview with Inverse, Revolori says he’s eager to star as Flash in a film adaptation of his character’s most popular comic book storylines. Namely, Flash’s time as an Army veteran and as the superhero Agent Venom.
“If there was an Agent Venom movie, of course, I would love to do it,” Revolori tells Inverse during the New York City press junket. “Hopefully they tap me if they ever actually go that route.”
In 2011, former high school bully Flash Thompson became the new host of the Venom symbiote, which, among other things, allowed Flash to walk again after he lost his legs while serving in the Iraq War. In The Amazing Spider-Man #654, published in February 2011, Flash adopted the name Agent Venom and worked as a government-sanctioned superhero. He later joined big-name teams such as the Secret Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy.
Left: Flash Thompson as he was originally portrayed as a high school jock. Right: Flash Thompson debuts as Agent Venom, from 2011.
While it’s unsurprising that Revolori would love to star in a theoretical Agent Venom movie, there are some complications that would have to be figured out before any such movie could ever come to be. Sony Pictures is gearing up for its Venom-centric Marvel Comics Universe, which will be separate from the Spidey-heavy Marvel Cinematic Universe. Sony currently has Tom Hardy (The Dark Knight Rises) tapped to play Eddie Brock, the first host of the Venom symbiote aside from Peter Parker. There’s no sign that the proper MCU will get a Venom of its own, Flash or otherwise.
“I love that in the comics, he grows from this bully to somebody who can change,” Revolori says about Flash Thompson in the comics. “Much like the actual Venom symbiote, he changes to become a good person. I think that’s what’s so wonderful about Flash, that the possibility for change is there for anyone. That’s what he represents and what I’d love [to portray]. He gains what he got from Spider-Man, which is this sense of responsibility.”
In the comics, Flash used to give Peter Parker a hard time in the hallways of Midtown High School. But Flash was also one of Spider-Man’s biggest fans, never knowing the two were the same. In the late 2000s, Flash —inspired by his favorite superhero — joined the U.S. Army and served during the Iraq War, losing both his legs during an ambush. As cool as an Agent Venom movie would be, Revolori says it’s this story that he’d love to do more than Venom.
“Truthfully, the storyline I want to do most is him losing his legs in the Iraq War,” he says. “I was talking with the lead writer of the Spider-Man comics, and he said to me, ‘I will never let Flash get his legs back. I will never let that happen.’ He’s a source of inspiration to people who are amputees or veterans who have PTSD. Even if they don’t read these comics, he’s somebody they can relate to.”
“That’s the story I would love to tell,” Revolori adds. “The heroic Flash, the Flash before Venom.”
Spider-Man: Homecoming will be released on July 7.
