Say what you will about Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but Sony Pictures has managed to attract some top-tier talent to the Marvel franchise.
Riz Ahmed played the villainous Carlton Drake in the first movie, while Woody Harrelson unleashed Carnage in the 2021 sequel. The franchise's next antagonist will be Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness star Chiwetel Ejiofor, though his role has remained a mystery to us. Until now.
According to scooper Daniel Richtman, the British actor has been cast In Venom 3 as comic book baddie Orwell Taylor.
There's long been speculation that he and The Jury would be this threequel's lead villains, particularly with Eddie Brock now moving into his Lethal Protector phase.
Led by Taylor, that group existed solely to take out Venom, with each member of The Jury outfitted in powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark's designs.
Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it's not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom. Remember, his existence appears to have been exposed to the world he calls home, hence why he's now in hiding.
Taylor isn't the most exciting villain, so it would be down to Ejiofor to do something exciting and interesting with this bureaucrat. However, we have faith that the actor will do so, likely having fun with the character in the process.
Juno Temple has nabbed a lead role in Venom 3, though we don't currently know who she's playing. Tom Hardy, meanwhile, returns as Eddie and also co-wrote the story with Kelly Marcel before she penned the screenplay. Cameras had been rolling in Spain before the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike forced production to be halted.
Venom 3 is currently set to be released in theaters on July 12, 2024.