Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures are still working on Spider-Man 4, a movie we hope is the first instalment of a new trilogy. Venom and Spidey never met in No Way Home, but the groundwork was laid for Peter Parker to eventually don the symbiote.
That may have been a Sony-mandated stinger, of course, but if that is where we're headed with a new series of street-level stories, then it should be an exciting few years. Whether the Multiverse sees Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock become a permanent resident on Earth-616 or Marvel Studios does its own thing with Venom, the possibilities are endless.
In this feature, we explore how the symbiote could reshape the upcoming Spider-Man movies and carry Tom Holland's wall-crawler into an astonishing new era of storytelling.
To see where we think Spidey could go with his nifty new black suit, click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below...
6. Peter Parker Gets A Powerful New Costume
In an ideal world, Peter Parker would have travelled to Titan in Avengers: Infinity War and returned to Earth with a new, alien costume. Of course, things didn't play out that way, and we ended up with Spider-Man: No Way Home's mid-credits scene instead.
Given Venom's sentience in Sony's Marvel Universe, watching the alien interact with Peter might be fun. However, the web-slinger's symbiote is likely another of Venom's offspring (similar to Carnage) and, in the MCU, will hopefully be little more than a sinister alien symbiote in line with its comic book counterpart rather than a character with a personality in its own right.
Either way, given Spidey's penchant for switching up his big screen costumes, something tells us his new alien suit could become a semi-permanent addition to the hero's wardrobe, particularly given his mindset after being forgotten by the world. Plus, think of all those new abilities to replace his Stark tech...
5. A New Thanos-Level Threat
Thanos may be dead and gone, but Marvel Studios has plenty of new big bads they can introduce over the next few years. While we still don't know what's planned for Kang the Conqueror, Galactus is on the horizon and we'd bet on Mister Sinister not being too far behind.
Back in this corner of the MCU, Marvel Studios' relationship with Sony Pictures could lead to the introduction of Knull. A primordial God of the void who existed before the universe, he was enraged when the Celestials despoiled his Dark Kingdom with the Light. In retaliation, Knull created the symbiotes and used them to wage war against all of existence, but ended up imprisoned by his alien army inside Klyntar.
The MCU already has some ties to him in the form of Thor: Love and Thunder's Gorr the God Butcher and the Necrosword, so Knull emerging as a Multiversal threat who brings Spider-Man and Sony's Venom together is a very real possibility.
4. A Symbiote Invasion
What's the appeal of bringing Knull and a possible army of symbiotes to Earth? Well, for starters, we could see Captain America, Thor, and Doctor Strange all forcibly bonded with these aliens with only Spider-Man (and maybe Venom) left to fend off the mind-controlled Avengers.
That has the makings of an amazing movie, and even if it just winds up being one or two MCU characters who find themselves wearing new alien costumes, it's an enticing prospect. Marvel already shifts a tonne of merchandise featuring "Venom-ized" heroes, so this being the endgame in Spider-Man 6, for example, makes sense to us.
Spider-Man being a street-level superhero seems to be where the franchise is heading, and adding a fantastical element like an alien suit wouldn't necessarily take anything from that (especially when it makes narrative sense for Peter to embrace his dark side in the wake of May's death).
3. Venom Gets Some Much-Needed Input From Kevin Feige
Sony Pictures owns the film rights to Spider-Man and that means they're able to do whatever they wish with these characters (within reason). Leaked "Sony Hack" emails confirmed that Kevin Feige offered some input with The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but he's not heavily involved.
However, should Venom find his way into the MCU, then the Marvel Studios President can find ways to improve him. Venom: The Last Dance might be where Hardy's time as Eddie Brock ends, but if Feige is involved in a Spider-Man/Venom crossover - even if the actor plays a Variant - then we're sure the anti-hero/villain would benefit greatly.
Whether it's enlisting Marvel Studios' talented concept artists to redesign Venom's appearance or completely overhauling the character (similar to the Spider-Man 2 video game), in Feige we trust. After all, a post-Avengers: Secret Wars MCU might look totally different...
2. The Fight We've Been Waiting For
Spider-Man vs. Venom is one thing, but Spider-Man vs. Venom vs. Carnage? Well, that would be on a whole other level. "Maximum Carnage" hasn't aged particularly well, but it was one heck of an event story, with Spider-Man joined by the likes of Black Cat, Captain America, and Deathlok in an effort to put an end to Cletus Kasady's murderous rampage across New York City.
By bringing these characters into the MCU - which would be very easy if Venom: The Last Dance really does end that franchise - we could see Spidey go from battling the Kingpin alongside Daredevil to fighting, say, Scorpion, and then tackling a threat as huge as this.
It doesn't even necessarily have to be "Maximum Carnage," but Marvel Studios getting involved with what is sure to be an unmissable crossover would be a good thing for everyone. Just like now is the right time to tell street-level stories with Spidey, embracing the alien suit and its baggage can take the character to spectacular new places.
1. A New Venom
With Venom about to smash his way into Spider-Man's world, it's not just Peter Parker that Eddie Brock could have an impact on. Mac Gargan was introduced in Spider-Man: Homecoming, and ended up behind bars and badly injured after crossing paths with the friendly neighbourhood superhero.
That movie's mid-credits scene made it clear the villain is looking for revenge, and if becoming Scorpion doesn't work out for him in an upcoming movie (and we don't think it will), then giving him the Venom symbiote would be a logical next step. This version of the character was an absolute beast, hulking over his foes and taking great delight in eating...everyone.
This is the Venom we've met dialled up to 100. Similar to how the aforementioned Spider-Man 2 game put Harry in the suit, the MCU could ditch Eddie altogether and tell a two or three-movie arc with Scorpion which culminates with him becoming the monster you see above.