“We all have our own problems. Our own issues,” as Tom Hardy said in the role of Eddie Brock in the first trailer for Venom. And right now, the issues some people are having is that they are very Mad Online™ about that trailer not showing Hardy as Venom.
To be fair, there were more hints about the symbiote than some people might have realized. And who doesn’t want to see lots of Tom Hardy, sans CGI? There’s also the matter of the budget. Venom is a lower-budget movie, which gives them freedom to be more violent, but it also means they can’t rush the special effects work or they’d have to pay more. With the film not releasing till October, the special effects probably aren’t trailer-ready.
On the other hand, if the special effects were indeed not trailer-ready, why release a trailer? That’s the argument many people were making on Twitter, with even Deadpool co-creator Rob Liefeld expressing disappointment:
Sony, stop calling bloggers and expressing your dissatisfaction that they are reflecting the truth. You ran that teaser that wasn’t ready for prime time! Look in the mirror.
— robliefeld (@robertliefeld) February 8, 2018
Thankfully, there were other people who took the whole thing less seriously and made us laugh:
Maybe the REAL Venom…
is us.
— Shen Comix (@shenanigansen) February 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/HSW3K/status/961604492583231488
Aren’t we all glad that the #Venom teaser showed us the ONE thing we were worried they couldn’t pull off?
So happy the car crashes and doctor scenes look solid. pic.twitter.com/un52g7HDBP
— Jason Inman (@Jawiin) February 8, 2018
And some thought the Venom trailer had a ’90s flair:
https://twitter.com/kellytindall/status/961847605440344065
I'm only going to see the Venom movie if the poster is Chromium Foil with a hologram on it.
— Stephen Sajdak (@stephensajdak) February 8, 2018
Mmmmm, that trailer smells like the mid-90s. #Venom
— DrewMcWeeny (@DrewMcWeeny) February 8, 2018
My takeaway from the Venom trailer is whoever designed that logo in the early ‘90s evidently nailed it.
— Andy Khouri (@andykhouri) February 8, 2018
But there were plenty of people who just wanted to see Venom:
When you realize Venom isn't in the Venom trailer. pic.twitter.com/3Ywb473T3a
— GameSpot (@GameSpot) February 8, 2018
https://twitter.com/robbiereviews/status/961612265421238272
https://twitter.com/BrianLynch/status/961630033855959042
"Sir, should we put Venom in this Venom trailer?"
"DID THEY PUT DINOSAURS IN THE FIRST JURASSIC PARK TRAILER?"
"Yeah, like, all of them."
"OK … WELL…. THE CGI ISN'T READY BUT BLACK PANTHER IS NEXT WEEK AND TOM HARDY'S BACK AND NECK ARE ITS OWN SPECIAL EFFECT." https://t.co/zdhmUzYqrE— Greg Wyshynski (@wyshynski) February 8, 2018
Is it just me, or…???#Venom pic.twitter.com/dWyMsZhAbi
— STEEL🗯 (@SuperheroSteel) February 8, 2018
And others pointed out that someone who isn’t familiar with Venom (the character debuted in 1988’s Amazing Spider-Man #300) might just be confused by the trailer:
Just watched the trailer for Venom. If I did not know the name of the film I would guess it's Tom Hardy and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) February 9, 2018
Let's all do an experiment. Go back and watch the #Venom trailer again. Now pretend like you have never heard of Venom, you have no idea what that is, and now tell me… what is that a trailer for?
— Aaron Bishop (@ProfessorThorgi) February 8, 2018
"Who cares if the Venom trailer doesn't look like a Venom movie? It's just the trailer."
Imagine if you opened a new restaurant and you order a sign to promote it, and the sign says "Mike's Hardware and Fireworks" Not going to get a lot of customers asking for a table— Aaron Bishop (@ProfessorThorgi) February 9, 2018
Some people made predictions:
https://twitter.com/trillValentine/status/961653643408797696
But despite all the kerfuffle and guffawing, there were still folks defending the trailer based on the talent behind it:
https://twitter.com/nicknunziata/status/961816719038726147
And one intrepid soul managed to reference three Tom Hardy movies in the space of one tweet, because you mustn’t be afraid to dream a little bigger, darling.
Tom Hardy got to play DC Comics character Bane, whose abilities come from a drug called Venom and now he gets to play Marvel character Eddie Brock, whose abilities come from an alien symbiotic called #Venom.
Inception.
— NUFF (@nuffsaidny) February 8, 2018
While some people were just looking forward to the potential mashup videos:
If someone doesn't redub all of Venom's lines with Bane dialogue, why even have an internet.
— Ryan Higgins – @ryanhiggins.bsky.social (@RyanHigginsRyan) February 8, 2018
Good news, Ryan…
(Via Rotten Tomatoes, SyFy [1, 2], We Got This Covered, and Screen Rant)