In a surprising move, Sony has revived its Spider-Man spinoff Venom. Why is this surprising, when we all know superhero films get dozens of spin-offs every year?

Here’s the catch; although Venom is intrinsically linked to Spider-Man, the film won’t actually be related to the upcoming Spider-Man reboot, it will be an unrelated project, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

That makes no sense, right? Exactly, which is why fans are pretty dismayed by the news, many believing the project will soon be cancelled as the studio are just jumping on the R-Rated superhero train started by Deadpool.

What’s slightly more worrying is that Avi Arad and Matt Tolmach are on board, both of whom are producing and overseeing the new film, as they did with the failed Andrew Garfield starring The Amazing Spider-Man.

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Sony is currently in the process of working with Marvel Studios to produce a new Spider-Man film which will fit in with the Iron Man and Captain America starring Marvel Cinematic Universe. Previously, Spider-Man has been a separate cinematic entity, and fans thought ths Spider-Man cinematic universe was over (seemingly not).

Who's the next Spider-Man?

Venom previously appeared in Sony’s Spider-Man 3, played by Topher Grace, a film that was critically panned unlike the first two films in the trilogy.