Marvel movie 'Venom' starring Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams to film in San Francisco

Tom Hardy is set to play Eddie Brock in "Venom."

Pictured: Hardy poses for a photograph upon arrival for the world premiere of 'Dunkirk' in London on July 13, 2017. Tom Hardy is set to play Eddie Brock in "Venom."

Pictured: Hardy poses for a photograph upon arrival for the world premiere of 'Dunkirk' in London on July 13, 2017. Photo: (TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images) Photo: (TOLGA AKMEN/AFP/Getty Images) Image 1 of / 24 Caption Close Marvel movie 'Venom' starring Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams to film in San Francisco 1 / 24 Back to Gallery

An upcoming Marvel feature film called "Venom," about a shapeshifting antihero, will film scenes in San Francisco this month.

The movie, directed by Ruben Fleischer, stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock (and Venom), Michelle Williams as Anne Weying (and She-Venom), and Riz Ahmed as Dr. Carlton Drake. Jenny Slate is also rumored to be in talks to join the cast. According to Collider, "Venom" was initially planned as a spin-off to the current "Spider-Man" timeline, but it's now being positioned as a standalone film.

As SF Weekly reported, a building near the Tenderloin-area bar Edinburgh Castle received a notice earlier this month announcing filming to take place Jan. 24. Additional filming will take place, during both day and night, between Jan. 16-26 in Russian Hill, North Beach, Chinatown, the Embarcadero, and the Financial District. Notices have already been posted near film locations in North Beach and Russian Hill, the San Francisco Film Commission confirms.

A casting website calling for San Francisco-based extras around that time for the film lists the project as "Antidote" — the same project name "Venom" was given while it was shooting in Atlanta.

Marvel, it should be noted, usually utilizes pseudonyms for their projects; the filming notices for "Ant-Man & the Wasp" listed the project as "Cherry Blue" with the production company written in as "Pym Productions."

"Venom's" filming in San Francisco is not unexpected. Canon dictates that Hardy's character Brock was born in San Francisco. After becoming a journalist, he becomes host to a Symbiote — a self-aware alien that binds itself to humans. This Symbiote, it should be noted, was previously attached to Spider-Man, and may grant Brock even more special abilities.

According to "Lethal Protector," a limited Venom comic series that director Fleischer recently stated is an inspiration for the film story, Brock returns to San Francisco after he and Spider-Man "agree to leave each other alone."

Marvel, however, hasn't formally released the details of the plot at this point. The movie is scheduled to be released Oct. 15.

Alyssa Pereira is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at apereira@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @alyspereira.