Fox

The slithery symbiote known as Venom has been a fan favorite since Marvel Comics artist Todd McFarlane first drew the sucker back in the late '80s, partly because his gnarly teeth, long-ass tongue and bulging black muscles look like they leapt off a death metal album cover. Also because he's way cool.

After years of development, Venom may finally be getting the solo flick he deserves, since The Los Angeles Times is reporting that director Josh Trank, hot off superhero hit "Chronicle," could helm the "Spider-Man" spin-off for Sony.

Rumors had Trank being courted by Fox for a "Fantastic Four" reboot, which he later denied, so piggybacking from one Marvel property to another seems like a lateral move. At one point the project had been offered to "Hunger Games" director Gary Ross, who wanted to turn the alien goo into an anti-hero (think "Rebel Without A Claws"), but now the studio wants to make him straight-up nasty again, which is just how we like him.

Venom and his most famous alter-ego/host Eddie Brock made a decidedly underwhelming debut in the bloated "Spider-Man 3," where Topher Grace tried admirably to compete for screentime with two other major bad guys. Grace is not expected to return, but on the plus-side Venom won't have to share the spotlight with Spidey.

Comics spin-off films have been historically weaksauce, with everything from "Elektra" to "Catwoman" to the Superman offshoot "Steel" tanking hard, although "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" was … okay, that was bad too. Hopefully Trank can reverse the curse.