According to Sci Fi Wire, Sony is moving forward with Venom, which will focus on the Spider-Man villain featured so briefly (and disappointingly) in the franchise's third installment. The studio also made known that those hired to pen the script are none other than Zombieland co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick.
In a statement to the press, Wernick said the process is already well underway.
We've written two drafts of Venom, and the studio has it, and they're pushing forward in whatever ways they push forward.... Basically, the studio and Marvel and the Arads are taking our drafts and going beyond and figuring out what's the next step.
It's unclear when production will begin, and Wernick declined to comment on a possible connection between Venom and Spider-Man 4, simply saying, "We can't really talk about that, unfortunately." The movie currently is projected for a 2012 release.