My Entertainment World has just posted Venom's production listing. It says that the film will start shooting this fall. It also posits the genre of the film to be “Action/Horror/Sci-fi,” a sure sign that this will all lead to a much wanted R rating.
There's also no word yet on whether this film will, somehow, find its way into the MCU, given that this is a property of the currently struggling Sony, and not Marvel's usual go-to, Disney, and that Sony has, so far, been rushing this project to the top of the heap gives off a sign of desperation on the part of the studio. Fingers are crossed that there will be enough time to make a quality product with a venerable director attached to the film. They did well with the first two Sam Raimi Spider-Man films, so there's no reason to believe they have it in them to make a great Venom movie, maybe with Raimi directing?
Last week I wrote:
"The fact that R rated Marvel movies such as "Deadpool" and "Logan" did so well at the box-office has probably helped "Venom" get a quicker than expected release date. There is a large market out there for R rated Marvel films done with more creative freedom than the PG-13 juggernauts we're so tirelessly accustomed to getting. One thing's for sure though, "Venom" will be bloody violent. If you remember, Topher Grace played Venom in Spider-Man 3, although the actual symbiotic villain must have had, what, around 5 minutes of screentime?"
Marvel has dated the movie for October 5, 2018!