Venom may not have struck a chord with critics and a lot of comic book fans, but it was a huge success, taking in over $855 million at the worldwide box office and a sequel is in the early stages of development. While Sony Pictures will hopefully address what went wrong with the first instalment, there's a lot that would have to be done in order to bring Eddie Brock into Peter Parker's world.
Everyone from Kevin Feige to Amy Pascal and Tom Holland have been quizzed about that in recent weeks, and all of them (particularly Holland) seem open to the idea.
However, Marvel Studios'
Spider-Man franchise is a very different beast to Venom and a crossover wouldn't be easy without some major changes. Here, we delve into what Feige could do to save the now beloved Symbiote and deliver the crossover fans want to see.
So, to check out this breakdown, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below!
Forget The Origin Story
Venom's origin story was a complete mess, and while it was fun to see the Life Foundation, Carlton Drake was a terrible villain and the way Eddie ended up being bonded to his Symbiote wasn't exactly as memorable as that church scene from the comic books.
When the MCU was starting up, Marvel Studios chose to very loosely tie
The Incredible Hulk into Ang Lee's
Hulk and softly rebooted the franchise. Meanwhile, their new take on Spider-Man glossed over his origin story and left fans to fill in the gaps themselves. The same could easily be done with Venom when he's brought into this shared world.
Somehow tie the Symbiote into the last two
Avengers movies, push Eddie into villainy after his encounter with Carnage, and have it leave him for Spider-Man (for a little while, at least) in order to set the stage for these two to eventually clash. Simple, right?
Give Spider-Man The Symbiote
As I mentioned above, Spider-Man needs to bond with Venom, and while it would be weird to see Peter Parker conversing with the alien, Marvel Studios could move away from that dynamic here by having the Symbiote pretend to be little more than a costume while it makes good use of the wall-crawler's power.
After discovering its true nature, Peter could send the alien packing and that would set the stage for it to return to Eddie and attempt to get some vengeance on the superhero.
It's a simple storyline, but one that worked perfectly in the comic books and there's no denying how much fun it would be to see Spider-Man fighting off Venom's darker impulses. Plus, this would finally give Venom that iconic white spider symbol on his chest.
Double Down On What Worked
Venom was far from a masterpiece, but there were some things that worked and both Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures would be wise to double down on those, whether what comes next is a Spider-Man-less sequel or some sort of crossover.
The humorous aspects were great (for the most part) and Eddie's relationship with the Symbiote was an undeniable highlight. Their dynamic has a tonne of potential, especially if future instalments delve into that on a less superficial level, exploring the impact Venom's darker nature is having on Eddie's psyche rather than just calling him a "pussy."
The Venom character doesn't need a total reboot even if he does join the MCU.
Take Avi Arad Out Of The Picture
Kevin Feige and Avi Arad don't like each other, hence why the latter isn't involved with the current wave of
Spider-Man movies (bear in mind he was the one responsible for how bad
Spider-Man 3 and the two
Amazing Spider-Man movies were). However, he played a key role in
Venom's development and is overseeing all of the other spinoffs, including
Morbius.
Needless to say, we don't have particularly high hopes for that movie either!
Regardless, if this crossover does happen, then Arad should be nowhere to be seen. While he claims to be a huge fan of Venom, he's now f***ed him up on multiple occasions and clearly doesn't understand what's needed to make the character work on screen.
Let Tom Hardy Run Wild
Tom Hardy can't have been happy with the response to
Venom, but his performance (as OTT as it was) did go down pretty well, and bringing the actor back is absolutely essential.
While he could do with a better script next time and fewer scenes of him sitting in lobster tanks, Hardy should definitely be allowed to continue to have fun with the role, and letting him go batsh*t crazy might just be the best decision Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures could possibly make.
Just imagine a totally evil and unhinged version of Eddie played by Hardy? It would be awesome.
Make It An Event
Right now, it seems like the plan is for the
Venom sequel to pit the titular anti-hero against Carnage and that's no bad thing. It could be used to set the stage for an eventual crossover with Spider-Man or, if Sony has any sense, they'll put the brakes on that and have him meet the wall-crawler before Carnage enters the fray so they can both square off against him.
Either way, a Spider-Man/Venom crossover needs to feel like a big deal and that's going to take some planning, not just a shoehorned cameo (like the rumoured scene which would have featured Peter Parker on a field trip to the Life Foundation).
Sony likely isn't capable of that, which is why Marvel Studios' inclusion is an absolute must.
Get Jon Watts To Take The Helm
This contradicts my next point to at least some extent, but bear with me. Ruben Fleischer absolutely should not return for the sequel (or be part of any superhero franchise, for that matter) so who better to make this crossover work than Jon Watts, the director who has successfully brought the wall-crawler into the MCU?
The only downside here would be that the
Spider-Man movies would have to be put on hold, unless of course Venom appears in one of his future solo adventures.
That would potentially have an impact on Feige's plans for the web-slinger, so a lot of co-ordination would be needed to make that work. This is why the best option could be to make this crossover a separate event of some sort or just have Spidey appear in a future
Venom movie...
On The Other Hand, Leave The Spider-Man Movies Be
Marvel Studios has done a spectacular job with the
Spider-Man franchise, and there's no way the brakes should be put on that now. However, just like how the wall-crawler appeared in the
Captain America and
Avengers franchises either side of his solo movies, so too could he make the leap to the
Venom franchise without his own adventures being impacted in a major way.
This would be a win/win for Sony as it would likely turn that into a $1 billion series, while they would have some creative input from Marvel Studios to ensure the movies are, you know, good.
For the most part, the
Spider-Man movies could remain unaffected and this crossover would only have to be very loosely tied into the MCU. This may sound somewhat complicated, but there are ways to make it work - Kevin Feige and company should have a lot of input, though.
Continue reading below for our recap of how
Venom set up the future of the Spider-Verse!
What Comes Next For The Symbiotes
By the time Venom ends, the Symbiotes brought to Earth by the Life Foundation have all perished due to not having a suitable host to bond with. Riot, meanwhile, burns up when the spaceship he's in explodes and that leaves Venom as the only Symbiote - that we know of - still alive on Earth. However, there's an entire asteroid full of them still out there so could that wind up crash-landing on our planet?
It seems unlikely because they'd probably all burn up on entry but Sony has left the door open to more of them being introduced somewhere down the line. The movie's producers have also confirmed that Venom very nearly included a scene set on Klyntar, so it's feasible that we'll get to see what life was like for Venom before he bonded with Eddie Brock. I'm just not sure how relevant that will be to Carnage!
Eddie Brock: Reporter
While Eddie Brock should probably be behind bars by the time Venom ends seeing as he went on a rampage through the city and ate a bunch of people, he actually ends up going back to his roots as a journalist. Now, common sense says that this will play a significant role in his adventures moving forward but will he one day end up being disgraced like his comic book counterpart before him?
It's doubtful as his firing for calling out Carlton Drake pretty much adapted that moment (very loosely, anyway) and it actually seems as if Eddie only got his job back so Sony would have an excuse to pit him against Cletus Kasady, something which could have been achieved by putting Eddie behind bars too.
Spider-Man Isn't Needed
Spider-Man is an essential part of Venom's backstory but this movie went at least some way in proving that the stories of these "Spider-Verse" characters can play out fairly well without the wall-crawler.
Would hating Spider-Man make Eddie Brock a better character whose motivations are significantly more fleshed out. Definitely. However, this movie worked without Peter Parker and a sequel pitting Venom against Carnage also doesn't need the hero so there's no reason to believe that the likes of Black Cat, Jackpot, and Silver Sable can't manage. They just won't be quite as good as they should be.
"I" Becomes "We"
Venom handles the relationship between Eddie Brock and the Symbiote in a very strange fashion. While "I" does become "We" as the story progresses, they're two separate entities; when Venom is in control, Eddie is just a passenger and vice versa. However, now these two have bonded, the stage is set for us to see the Venom from the comic books we all know and love when the sequel finally lands.
There were hints of that in this first instalment and if the follow-up takes the ball and runs with the idea, we could be in for a treat. Now that Eddie and Venom have achieved true symbiosis, the lines between who is who will hopefully be blurred and Sony will explore exactly what that means for them both rather than just playing on their dynamic for laughs and trying to make a wannabe Deadpool.
Ann Weying's Return
On the one hand, I find it hard to believe that Michelle Williams will want to reprise the role of Ann Weying in the Venom sequel but the first instalment still finds plenty of ways to set the stage for the character's return. For starters, there are plenty of hints that Eddie Brock will win his former fiancee back, while she clearly enjoyed being She-Venom for a while, so that could come into play as well.
I wasn't a fan of Venom but that was one of the movie's coolest moments, so while I don't think she'll get a symbiote of her own, Venom might find a way to imbue her with powers as well in order to even the odds against Carnage when that battle inevitably takes place between father (mother?) and son.
Carnage Is Coming
I've mentioned Carnage a few times here and there's a very good reason for that. During Venom's mid-credits scene, Eddie Brock heads to prison to interview Cletus Kasady, a well-known serial killer who intends of getting out of there to cause "carnage." It's since been confirmed on multiple occasions that the two Symbiotes will clash in the sequel and we have a good idea of how that will happen.
Just like in the comics, the Venom Symbiote will more than likely produce an offspring which will bond with Cletus to create Carnage and help him escape, something which is bound to result in a lot of laughs when Eddie questions how his other could have let that happen. The movie's producers have confirmed that the sequel won't boast an R-Rating, though, so forget about seeing anything too brutal.
Eddie Brock's History In New York
One of the most intriguing moments of Venom comes when Ann Weying mentions that something happened while Eddie Brock was working for The Daily Globe in New York City that led to him being chased out of town. Comic book fans will know that he was fired from the newspaper when he was fooled into believing that a copycat was the Sin-Eater and Spider-Man later discredited him.
Eddie plays down what happened in this movie so chances are it wasn't quite that bad but it definitely feels like there's a story to be told there. Perhaps Eddie wrote something about Cletus Kasady's murders and got it wrong? After all, it's been confirmed that the villain went on a spree in NYC.
A Different Tone For This Spider-Verse
Regardless of whether you loved it or hated it, everyone seems to agree that Venom is one weird movie. It's as if Tom Hardy was sent a totally different script to the rest of the cast and the tone is all over the place. After all, we expected a horror style superhero movie but what we actually got was a bizarre buddy comedy/action-adventure. What this probably means is that the rest of these Spider-Verse movies will boast similarly weird tones and probably won't be anything like we're expecting!
Planet Of The Symbiotes
I'm almost certainly getting ahead of myself here but looking at Venom 3, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we get some sort of cosmic style adventure. After all, by that point, the franchise will have done Riot and Carnage so why not either bring a bunch of symbiotes to Earth or sent Eddie and Venom to Klyntar? That would be a bold move on Sony's part but it could work if they have the cajones to do it.
Honestly, I wouldn't bank on it but recent comic books have featured various wars between Venom and his fellow Symbiotes so there are plenty of places the threequel could actually take inspiration from.
The Lethal Protector
Venom's code is a little messed up as Eddie Brock is happy to let him kill criminals simply in order to keep his hunger under control. In fact, that seems to be the only reason the journalist is happy to take down bad guys but this will probably be the closest we get to seeing the "Lethal Protector" version of the character on the big screen. That's better than nothing and can be improved on in the sequel.
In fact, starting the follow-up with Venom serving as San Francisco's superhero would be a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I'm not sure I have much faith in Sony to deliver on that promise but it could happen providing we get a new team of writers and a director a little more capable of handling this.