Venom Wants Rogue One Star Riz Ahmed, Is He Carnage?

Riz Ahmed is currently in talks with Sony about a part in the upcomingVenommovie directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland). Sources close to the project say that the up and coming Ahmed has already signed on or is very close to doing so. But which part might he be playing?Venom, starring Tom Hardy, is set to begin shooting this fall for a 2018 release. Besides the announcement of Hardy as Venom and Fleischer directing, not much else is clear at this point.

A lot of the information about Sony’sSpider-Manspin-offVenomhas been kept under wraps, but we do know thatShe-Venom, aka Ann Weying has been talked about and possibly even cast by this point and that Carnage is the main villain.Cletus Kasaday, aka Carnage has always been a fan favorite, and sources close to the project say that Riz Ahmed (Rogue One) has auditioned for the part.Varietyreports that Ahmed is in talks with Sony, but they did not specify which character he’s wanted for.

Sony has yet to release an official statement, but again, sources claim that Ahmed is up for theCarnage role. As with all great news that comes from “sources,” we’ll have to attach this noise to an angry symbiote and see if it grows into something special, especially since conflicting reports have come to light since the news of Ahmed’s talks were announced late yesterday. Justin Kroll, the author of the Variety story has since gone on to Tweet that he does not believe that Ahmed is up for the Carnage role, but was careful in saying that the news did not mean that Carnage is not in the movie.

Regardless of the decision, the addition ofRiz Ahmedto the cast is excellent news. If he were to play the villainous Carnage it would certainly be a side of the actor that we have yet to see, which is exciting on its own to think about. In addition toRogue One, Ahmed has also recently been seen inNightcrawlerandThe Night Of. The actor was nominated for Golden Globe Awards and SAG Awards for his performance inThe Night Ofand is also a musician, rapping in the group Swet Shop Boys and solo. His 2006 video for the song “Sour Times” even featured Tom Hardy.

Sony is keeping their secrets on this project, so we’ll have to wait for some official announcements before we get too excited, but for now, we do know that Riz Ahmed is in talks to join theVenommovie. Though it is not clear if he will be portraying Carnage, it would be pretty awesome to see him as the character on the big screen up against Tom Hardy’sVenom.Venomis currently on track to begin shooting this fall and will be released onOctober 5th, 2018and that alone is something to be excited for.