The Venom symbiote was almost drastically reimagined for Spider-Man 3, and these changes would have made the iconic Spider-Man villain even more terrifying. In the Spider-Man comic lore, the Venom symbiote requires a host for survival and feeds on chemicals like adrenaline while providing its host with superhuman abilities (and strengthening whatever powers a host might already have). Spider-Man 3 presented a mostly comic-accurate iteration of the Venom symbiote, though Eddie Brock was altered to be seemingly irredeemable when bonded with it (while his comic counterpart was morally gray, both as Brock and as Venom).
Spider-Man 3 has notably more deleted content than its live-action Spider-Man movie predecessors, though many of its deleted scenes, sub-plots, and concepts are available to the public through home media bonus content, the film’s novelization, and an Editor’s Cut. One notorious deleted concept from Spider-Man 3 is Venom’s original death scene, which was likely deemed too gruesome for the film’s final cut. The original scene’s existence has been confirmed by an unused prop, at least one piece of Spider-Man 3 merchandise, and the Spider-Man 3 novel by Peter David, though it allegedly was shown in test screenings as well.
How Sam Raimi Originally Planned To Reimagine The Venom Symbiote
While the comics and Spider-Man 3’s theatrical cut depict the Venom symbiote as a true symbiotic lifeform, it was originally reimagined as more of a parasite. The symbiote consumed far more than chemicals like adrenaline, making an ordinary human an unsustainable host. Peter Parker’s superpowers made him either a long-term or infinite source of sustenance, but for Eddie Brock, bonding with the symbiote was fatal. This reimagining would have sacrificed comic accuracy for a shocking and disturbing twist in Spider-Man 3’s ending. The theatrical version, while tamer, was arguably better because of its closer adherence to the source material.
Spider-Man 3’s Deleted Scenes Made The Venom Symbiote Scarier Than Ever
During its fight with Spider-Man, the Venom symbiote was originally going to separate itself from Eddie Brock and reveal that he was already ᴅᴇᴀᴅ before the fight began, with Brock’s remains being nothing more than a charred, deformed, skeleton. In the novelization, Spider-Man wonders if the symbiote absorbed Eddie’s personality and memories or simply attempted to behave as it ᴀssumed Brock would have. In either case, Venom would have been a far more haunting antagonist. Another Spider-Man 3 deleted scene – which is available to the public – also makes Venom far more disturbing, albeit without altering the symbiote’s comic accuracy.
The symbiote was originally going to die from overexposure to intense vibrations, which would have been another change from the source material. In the comics, intense vibrations cause symbiotes to weaken and eventually separate from their hosts, while fire is ᴅᴇᴀᴅly to symbiotes. In the theatrical version of Spider-Man 3, a pumpkin bomb kills the Venom symbiote, preserving its weakness from the comics.
Spider-Man 3’s other deleted Venom scene has Peter Parker looking in a mirror and briefly seeing a screaming Venom in a jump scare. Notably, the Venom that Peter sees is not the same Venom that Eddie Brock becomes, as its teeth and tongue look more human. This implies that Peter is hallucinating a potential future in which he is trapped within the symbiote, screaming for help as the alien controls his body while all he can do is watch helplessly. Arguably, this disturbing moment should have remained in the theatrical cut of Spider-Man 3.
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