Venom 3

We finally have confirmation that Venom 3 is a go. At the recent Sony Pictures CinemaCon, it was officially announced that a third installment of the Tom Hardy, Spider-Man universe franchise has been greenlit.

This is not really that much of a surprise, given that Venom quickly became the flagship character for Sony’s swiftly growing cinematic universe and also that the first two movies made well over a billion dollars at the box office combined. Here is the information we have so far about the return of Tom Hardy and his creepy-growl voice in Venom 3:

VENOM 3 IS OFFICIALLY IN THE WORKS FROM SONY

At CinemaCon, it was briefly and tantalizingly confirmed that Venom 3 is happening by the appearance of a logo for the third movie at the end of a sizzle reel of upcoming projects for Sony Pictures. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was released last year in 2021, and the previous Venom movie was in 2018. This probably indicates that we have a few years of production and development for everyone’s favorite symbiotic kinda-sorta hero. 

VENOM IS EDDIE BROCK AND IS AN ANTI-HERO IN THE SONY SPIDER-MAN UNIVERSE

As a quick brushing up for those curious about this Venom 3 business, Venom is a popular Marvel Comics character. It was originally introduced as a black, alien goo that turned into a slick new costume for Peter Parker while fighting in the 1980s crossover event Secret Wars and officially introduced in The Amazing Spider-Man #252.

Because comic books are very weird things, it turned out that the costume was a living symbiotic entity that made Spider-Man kind of a jerk. After separating from it, the symbiote next bonded with a disgraced reporter named Eddie Brock, who went on to be a recurring antagonist for Spider-Man until the character’s popularity prompted a reinvention as an antihero. 

VENOM AND VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE ARE THE FIRST TWO MOVIES

In the current Sony Pictures films, the Venom symbiote arrived on Earth after jumping off a comet to a space probe and being experimented on by a sinister corporation. Much like in the comics, it bonded with Eddie Brock (played by Tom Hardy); the two essentially share a body that can transform into a monstrous, fanged Spider-Man-looking thing.

Unlike the originally villainous comic version of the character, Brock mostly tries to tame the insatiable bloodlust of his alien buddy and do good. Mostly.

Venom 3 will presumably pick up after the events of the Andy Serkis-directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In that sequel, Venom and Brock essentially break up because the symbiote wants to consume more human beings and Brock doesn’t. Meanwhile, a serial killer named Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson) bonds with a new red symbiote, and battles ensue.

Eventually, Venom and Brock get the band back together, and for a moment, they pop up in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as a result of the events of Spider-Man: No Way Home. 

TOM HARDY WILL BE BACK AS EDDIE BROCK

Sony Pictures did not announce any creative attachments for Venom 3, so we do not yet really know. Obviously, Tom Hardy will return to reprise his starring role, and most likely, so will Michelle Williams as his ex-girlfriend and Reid Scott as her current fiance.

So far, the series has switched up Zombieland director Ruben Fleischer for Andy Serkis, so there is no guarantee that they will stick with the same director this time around. 

Interestingly, Venom: Let There Be Carnage included a “story by” credit for Tom Hardy, which was not the case for the first movie. It would appear that Hardy is exerting more creative control over the series as it goes on, so it is likely Venom 3 will also give him a story and/or screenplay credit.

SPIDER-MAN COULD BE INVOLVED IN VENOM 3

Not all that long ago, we would have said that Spider-Man will definitely not be showing up in Venom 3. However, Sony and Disney (the parent company of Marvel Studios) have been showing increasing willingness to overlap characters and properties. And Tom Hardy has said that he wants this franchise to continue overlapping with the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Tom Holland’s version of Spider-Man showed up in a (footage) cameo in the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage and an uncredited Tom Hardy returned the favor in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Now that Michael Keaton’s Vulture appeared in the credits scenes for Morbius, the chances of more crossovers seem actually pretty decent. 

THERE IS NO OFFICIAL RELEASE DATE FOR VENOM 3

There is no announced date for Venom 3 to be released in theaters as of right now. However, Sony Pictures has historically used October as a landing ground for both previous Venom films so we can likely narrow it down to the season. We will update as we find out new information on Venom 3.