So Spider-Man 3 wasn’t Spider-Man 2 or even Spider-Man 1. Come on people, get over it. It’s not a bad movie. Not as good as the others, but a lot of people seem to have talked themselves into believe it’s Elektra when it’s really more like Batman Returns. It’s a solid superhero flick. Even Raimi’s streak of utter genius had to end some time.

He did however drop the ball on Venom. Topher Grace was the right man for the part, and there are moments in the movie where the film really gets Venom right, but for the most part he’s a footnote and never gets the kind of character development that Spider-Man’s most awesome arch-nemesis deserves. It would be kind of like having The Joker stuck in the role Scarecrow played in Batman Begins.

Now though, it looks like Venom may get his due… without Spidey. IESB is reporting that Marvel is giving him his own movie. In fact, the project is part of the interim agreement Marvel made with the WGA, so this isn’t even something that’ll have to wait until after the strike. Marvel Studios is swinging with it, right now.

The Venom Symbiote presents plenty of opportunity for Jekyll and Hyde style drama, but they’ll need a good actor to pull it off. No word on whether Topher Grace will return to play Eddie Brock, the guy inside the black, gooey, thingy from space. I for one hope he does. Grace, like Venom, hasn’t gotten the kind of work he deserves. He’s a better actor than his filmography says he is, and he still seems like the right fit for Venom, especially in a film focused entirely on the character.