This weekend, Venom is going to try its damnedest to take a big, gooey bite out of the superhero cinema landscape with its adaptation of the classic Spider-Man villain. The film, which draws from the Venom: Lethal Protector comic book mini-series, isn’t just the first time the symbiotic antihero is getting his own solo film, it is also the first entry in Sony’s own Marvel universe, which will exist apart from Disney’s expansive, decade-long Marvel Cinematic Universe. The biggest question on many fans’ minds has been one of how exactly Venom will work outside of the context of Spider-Man, especially given the circumstances of the character’s creation. In order to find out, our very own ace reporter Hector Navarro sat down with Venom stars Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, and Reid Scott to talk about what the future holds for Venom, how the film can succeed on its own merits without ol’ Webhead, and much more.

“I don’t think you need a superhero for a super villain to be interesting or vice versa really,” Riz Ahmed explained when asked how Venom can work outside the context of Spider-Man. “The question then becomes, once you don’t have a superhero, is that character still a villain?”

Tom Hardy added, “If you put somebody to the front and center of the story as a protagonist, you don’t necessarily have to be good or bad to be a protagonist. It doesn’t make you any less interesting because you’re not good [and] you don’t do good stuff.”

Considering what we’ve seen in the trailers, Venom is going to do some very bad stuff indeed, especially to the heads of those who wrong him. Whether or not the comic book movie turns out to be a success remains to be seen after this weekend’s opening. Read our review of the film, see it yourself, and let us know your thoughts in the comments below on whether or not Venom needs a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man to truly work.

Images: Sony