After years of false starts and setbacks, The Venom solo movie is finally happening with Tom Hardy taking on the iconic character. The first teaser has arrived which you can watch above, and it’s a bit of a mixed bag.

As reported by Slash Film, the Venom movie is taking its inspiration from the comics Lethal Protector and Planet of the Symbiotes. They described those two key runs as ” Lethal Protector was the first comic that changed Venom, aka Eddie Brock, from a full-fledged Spider-Man villain into an anti-hero. In the comic, Brock struck a deal with Spider-Man that ensured the characters would leave each other alone; then he hightailed it to San Francisco. In Planet of the Symbiotes, the earth is invaded by an army of symbiotes, aka the black, gooey alien substance that serves as the raw materials for Venom’s iconic costume.”

We knew that Sony was going to be using the anti-hero arc for the beloved villain in order to make a solo movie work, but this first teaser isn’t really doing much for me. Tom Hardy is a great talent, of that there is no question, sure, he often speaks like he’s chewing stones, but he’s always hypnotically watchable. There are no glimpses of Venom in the teaser, which isn’t a complete surprise as production is only about halfway through filming. A strong case could be made for the point in a Venom trailer without the titular Symbiote, but as the movie is due for release in October, Sony needed to start their marketing campaign.

Directed by Ruben Fleischer (Zombieland) and also starring Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Scott Haze, Reid Scott and Jenny Slate, Venom will be invading cinemas on October 5.

One of Marvel’s most enigmatic, complex and badass characters comes to the big screen, starring Academy Award® nominated actor Tom Hardy as the lethal protector Venom.