'Venom' Trailer Catches Tom Hardy in Its Web

Tom Hardy is back in black.

The first trailer for Venom dropped Thursday, giving the first look at him in action as the Marvel character.

The character began as a Spider-Man villain in the comics, with the bitter journalist bonding with an alien symbiote to become the entity known as Venom — a sharp-toothed, anti-hero who likes protecting the innocent (and hates Spider-Man).

Ruben Fleischer directs the film, with his cast including Tom Hardy, Woody Harrelson, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate and Scott Haze. With Venom, Sony plans to launch a universe based on Spider-Man characters, Silver and Black — centering on Silver Sable and Black Cat — slated for Feb. 8, 2019.

Sony opens Venom on Oct. 5.