Tom Hardy is dropping his Bane mask to take on a new one: Venom. The actor has signed on to star in the "Spider-Man" spinoff featuring the classic villain.

Sony has been hard at work developing a universe based on its Marvel property, "Spider-Man." They are rebooting the main title with "Spider-Man: Homecoming," which opens July 7. Still, industry observers were surprised that Sony placed "Venom" on its schedule of upcoming releases, slating it for Oct. 5, 2018.

Hardy previously played the villain Bane in "Dark Knight Rises," but now switches from DC Comics to Marvel with this casting.

Venom is a major villain in the Marvel comics. He is an alien symbiote who infuses his human hosts with super powers. He was played by Topher Grace in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man 3."

This isn't the only villain-centric Spidey-verse film in the making. Sony is also developing a movie about Black Cat and Silver Sable. Spider-Man himself is not expected to appear in either offshoot.