Venom To Have Sling-off

9th October 2009

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'Spider-Man 4' screenwriter Gary Ross is to direct a spin-off film based on super-villain Venom.

Ross - who directed 'Pleasantville' and 'Seabiscuit' and whose screenwriting credits include 'Big' and 'Dave'- is to rewrite the script and helm the hotly-anticipated project.

Venom, an archenemy of the webslinger in the Marvel Comics series, will be transformed into an antihero who becomes a defender of the innocent.

It is not yet known whether Topher Grace, the actor who played the alien parasite in 2007's 'Spider-Man 3', will return.

Topher, 31, has only just signed on to star in Robert Rodriguez's 'Predators' - based on the character from the cult 1987 sci-fi film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger - so it is unlikely he will have time for the role.

Columbia Pictures refused to comment on either Gary's or Topher's involvement with the movie, based on the Marvel comic book character who battles Spider-Man.

Variety reports: "Venom, an archenemy of the webslinger in the Marvel Comics series, will be transformed into an antihero who becomes a defender of the innocent."

Avi Arad and Marvel are producing the movie which is expected to be released in 2011.