Bring it on! I love Thomas Haden Chursh after seeing him in "Sideways".

here john this is a better picture of him ...

http://spiderman.sonypictures.com/

Thanks for that venonmm - I (Richard!) linked directly to the MO site as that's where we found the story, but I (Richard) didn't put a link direct to the Sony site. Thanks for that, it's a much bigger size.

yeah anytime rich, just like to help out thats all

well the rumors of church being sandman is true, so heck maybe the rumors of topher being venom is true ?¿? guess we will have to wait and find out

HOLY CRAPOLY! Looking sweet...first image of Spidey 3 I've seen really...now just bring on Venom!!

Looks Awesome, can't wait to see venom... movie is gonna rock!

I still think Topher Grace is simply going to be 'Eddie Brock' and not 'Venom'.
Still, this pic answers few questions, as generally from the start, despite occasional speculation (the Chamelon crap, for example) everyone pretty much knew when Church was announced what character he would play.

This is enough to get folks hyped, but now comes a question. Has filming already started? I thought they were just doing a few FX tests, but this is clearly in the day with no blue/greenscreen around Church. Hmmm...part of a teaser trailer, perhaps?

Follow up.

On Moviies Online...why....why...WHY do they still insist on calling out James Franco as "Hobgoblin"?!

meh

Did Church have to work out and bulk up one arm to be bigger than the other, or is it just the picture, or do my eyes just suck? That would be cool if he did......

???

OK here's the deal:

1. Topher Grace IS playing both Brock and Venom, so please stop posting that he's only going to be Brock, that's not true at all.

2. Up there in that picture yes, it looks as if one arm is bigger than the other, but trust me it's the photo and not that he's lopsided. It would be much more pronounced than just being bigger in the sleeves.

3. The reason why Franco is being called the Hobgoblin is simple - he's going to be the hobgoblin. He's going be introduced towards the end of the movie. Venom will be the one protecting / saving Spiderman from Sandman.

4. Spiderman will first fight using the black suit - while fighting SANDMAN - and be more powerful then him. When he loses the suit, it then attaches to Brock and Brock becomes venom.

5. Venom will fight Sandman, basically bite him and kill him. He'll then begin fighting Spiderman.

6. Hobgoblin will make his cameo / introduction at the very and he'll likely play a role in Spiderman 4, not this one. The two major villains are Sandman / Venom with a cameo / brief appearance by Hobogoblin as played by Harry.

Where did I get this info? J.E. That's all I'm saying. :)

Thats a good plot, SpideyFan. Exactly as i predicted the plot would be months and months ago.

I love the picture, it's cool to see Church getting some good roles after so many years.

btw- Darren, my source says filming doesn't start till December.

(Meli)
Then this photo is from a recent costume/FX test. Or part of an advance teaser trailer.

(Spideyfan)
No one has laid eyes on the Spider-Man 3 script outside of thier production. I still have trouble beliving that Raimi is just going to hand the whole movie to Venom. There would also be the whole backstory where Spidey meets the symbiont suit, and the focus should still be on the life of Peter Parker.

In addition, there is a serious flaw in the logic you suggest. Why would Venom have to save Spider-Man from Sandman, if Spider-Man with the symbiont, defeats Sandman? Then Venom kills Sandman?

No, darren, this is how it goes: Spidey gets the alien suit early in the movie after it comes to earth from a John Jameson space mission. Meanwhile, Harry hires Sandman to kill spidey. Later on in the movie, after Symbiote(i'm tired of everyone spelling that wrong) Spidey nearly kills Sandman. After spidey realizes that he is losing control over the symbiote, he gets rid of it. Brock then gets it. Venom will be a minor character(similar to scarecrow in batman begins). he protects spidey from sandman, who is out for revenge, because Venom wants to kill spidey himself. After venom kills sandman, then he turns on spidey. Spidey defeats venom, then harry becomes hobgoblin after descovering that sandman failed. End credits. There will be a lot of stuff concerning Peter and MJ's engagement and pete's relationship with harry thrown in the mix, two. get ready for a 2 1/2 hour movie.

PS. I haven't read the script. This is only my interpretation of what i think will happen.

That's a good start, Brian, but you do understand the flaws in this?

1. If you and Spideyfan are on the same page, then why is the character Sandman, why not the Rhino? Shocker? See, the way Spideyfan (and you) set the stage is that for the most part, Sandman is no real threat. Venom is. Venom is either the main villian (as Spideyfan suggests) or he's second tier (as you suggest). Fans are spilt down the middle on this. A lot would love (and now anticipating) to see another classic villian come to life. These fans are not big time Venom fans. On the flip side, there is that specially marked fanboy section that wants Venom to take the limelight.

2. Why would Harry repeat the same behavior from the previous film? In a sense, he 'hired' Octavius to bring Spider-Man to him to kill him, but also having Otto get the information from Peter. Now, Harry knows two things: one, Peter is Spider-Man, and his father was the Green Goblin. In time between movies, it can be assumed Peter will fill him in on everything. Oscorp is pretty much ruined due to the Octavius incident, so to go public that his father was the Goblin isn't going to help much...unless...he could report the technology 'stolen' by an unknown party, and does not tell the truth in public about his father. Harry feels that Spider-Man/Peter might need a hand in fighting bad guys.
(note: the following is one of my interpetations from here on out in this point) So Harry, not wanting to associate himself with 'Green Goblin" changes the exoskeleton color to say, a coppery gold. Improvements are made.

But Harry has forgotten that his father before his death has slipped him several mickeys laced with enchancers, hence the appearance of his father in the mirror. When Harry dons the new suit, he helps Spider-Man at first, but when JJJ nicknames him Hobgoblin, Harry really snaps. Guess the rest. But...

3) Sam Raimi, at the release of Spider-Man 2, wanted the Harry-Goblin thing to be a possibility, not a slam dunk.

4) I agree with how the Symbiote is found. But I would like it more if, (early interpetation again) after the symbiote escapes and attaches itself to Spidey, John Jameson turns into Man-Wolf. The battle ensues, and the symbiote comes off Spidey. It goes however, to a rival Bugle photographer who beat Peter Parker to a Spider-Man scoop. Venom is born. Venom kicks the Crayola out of Man-Wolf, then goes after Spider-Man, because the city "isn't big enough for the both of us".

5) Yeah, a lot of stuff going on for a near three hour movie. If the past two films are the norm, then the film will be trimmed to two hours and ten minutes. This is also one of the reasons why many think that Topher Grace as Venom is wrong. That's why I say he's only Brock, since I don't think the information is all wrong.

for a good start, you sure seem to have a lot of problems with my plot. I don't think Man-wolf will be in it. No chance in hell. i do think this movie will be less than 2 and 1/2 hours. which is why i think venom will be minor. The main thing in this is going to be harry and peter's relationship. Harry is freaking out and going slowly insane. He decides that family is more important than friends, and wants Peter dead. This movie will not take place 2 or 3 years after the previous installment like the second movie, rather, it will start only a few months after. Sandman is going to be a killer of a villain. Shocker will explode if he gets wet. Rhino doesn't have much agility, so Spidey would just dodge him like he did Flash Thompsons fists. Sandman can shift shapes, harden his body, or disseminate into trillions of little peices. I'm sorry, but you're plot is just so...un-spidey like. hobgoblin being good? You kinda contradicted yourself saying that Grace would only be playing brock, and then doing a 180 saying that venom would "kick the crayola out of man-wolf"