Sony has released the first trailer for Venom, starring Tom Hardy as an antihero who gets tangled up with a mysterious and powerful symbiote.

If the character sounds kind of familiar, you may recall that he's frequently associated with Spider-Man – Topher Grace played a version of him in 2007's Spider-Man 3.

But this Venom exists separately from Spider-Man. The current Spidey exists in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with all the Avengers, while Venom is off doing his own thing in a different continuity.

And it's probably just as well. Between all the corporate intrigue and action and whatever else is going on in this trailer, Venom looks like he's got plenty on his plate already.

Venom hits theaters Oct. 5. Riz Ahmed, Jenny Slate, and Michelle Williams also star.