Brian Bendis turns down 'Venom'?

Rumours that Brian Michael Bendis turned down the opportunity to write a Venom movie are in circulation.

During a recent Word Balloon podcast, the celebrated scribe revealed that Sony Pictures offered him the chance to script a Spider-Man tie-in project.

Bendis explained that the proposed film was set "in the same universe" as the Spider-Man series, giving rise to speculation that the studio is attempting to push forward with its previously announced Venom solo film.

The writer went on to say that he believes his refusal to accept the position may have hurt his chances of acting as script consultant on the upcoming Spider-Man series reboot.

Previous reports suggest that Zombieland co-writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick have submitted scripts for Venom.