Why Fans Say the ‘Venom’ Movie Trailer Doesn’t Feel Like a Venom Movie

The long wait for official, non-paparazzi Venom footage is over. The teaser trailer gave fans a highly anticipated glimpse at the upcoming Spider-Man spinoff. Except — one small problem — there was no Venom in it.

While the new trailer, which makes the movie out to be a pretty competent but standard thriller, is full of shots of Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock running and riding a motorcycle, there isn’t a single shot of Venom in action. The closest we come is the very beginnings of what looks like Eddie’s transformation, but the spot ends before we see much more than some dark, pulsating veins. Coupled with the grim tone and lack of actual information about the plot, the teaser screams action thriller and not a Marvel character’s movie. And, the fans have noticed. They aren’t thrilled by the lack of Venom in this here Venom movie, to say the least.

The Venom teaser heavily relies on the typical monster movie tease. You show the destruction, those impacted, but you don’t show the monster — at least, not in the beginning. In theory, this gets people excited, because what we don’t see is usually more thrilling in our imaginations than a flat-out reveal. Jaws, which hid the shark for most of the movie, is perhaps the epitome of this technique. The tactic, though, didn’t go over as well here, perhaps because Venom is not just the movie’s “monster.” He is the central figure and driving force, so simply showing Eddie Brock struggling is not going to cut it for some fans.

Hardy’s co-stars Michelle Williams and Riz Ahmed both make bigger appearances in the teaser than Venom does. Jenny Slate and Woody Harrelson are also part of the cast.

Aside from the start of Eddie’s transformation at the end of the trailer, the only Venom-adjacent thing in the teaser is a quick look at the symbiote. This is what will give Eddie the powers and turn him into Venom, but maybe we’ll see that happen in the next trailer.

A franchise is in the works and Venom is the starting point, so there are plans to see a lot more of Hardy’s Venom. Unfortunately, will we all just have to wait for the next trailer. Hopefully.

Venom is set for wide release on October 5, 2018.