Earlier this week, we learned that
Mowgli director Andy Serkis will take the helm of
Venom 2 for Sony Pictures. That's a big upgrade over Ruben Fleischer, and there's now a lot of excitement surrounding the direction the motion-capture expert could end up taking Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock moving forward.
While it seems pretty obvious that Carnage will be the movie's big bad, that doesn't mean we won't see some other villains join the fray, and there's still plenty of room for more supporting characters.
Now, we're taking a look at ten of the best possible options for who could fill these roles, and while we obviously don't expect or want them all to appear, even just one or two would surely make comic book fans very happy indeed.
From other Symbiotes to men and women (and demons!) who have served as allies to Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady, there are some great possibilities. So, to see which characters we've singled out, all you have to do is hit the "View List" button!
Toxin
In one of Venom and Carnage's most entertaining clashes, the two Symbiotes went to war after Toxin was born. Carnage's child and Venom's grandson, the Toxin Symbiote bonded with NYPD officer, Patrick Mulligan. Unlike Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady, Pat was never tempted to give in to his darker impulses and constantly struggled to keep Toxin on the side of the angels.
The big screen version of Eddie is a good guy for the most part, so differentiating Pat in that way wouldn't work, but there's definitely some potential for a good story here - especially as Toxin's abilities essentially make him poisonous to the other Symbiotes. A cop unleashing the powers of one of these aliens is also very different to a journalist and serial killer, so that might be fun to explore.
The Jury
The Life Foundation proved to be a pretty underwhelming bunch of goons led by Carlson Drake, but The Jury could be a big improvement and a great secondary antagonist for
Venom 2. Led by General Orwell Taylor, this group existed solely to take out Venom, and Serkis has already dropped some hints that's he's taking inspiration from the "Lethal Protector" storyline.
Each member of The Jury was outfitted with 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 Venom
and Carnage!
The Fortunato Family
If you read Mark Millar's superb
Marvel Knights: Spider-Man run, you'll know that a wimpy young man called Angelo Fortunato became the second man to wear the Venom Symbiote after Eddie Brock sold it in an auction. Finally able to take his frustrations out on those around him, Angelo quickly embraced his other's monstrous nature but died when the Symbiote decided to leave him.
Angelo was part of the Fortunato crime family, and seeing as we've already seen a group like The Life Foundation taking on Venom, it might be good to now have the Lethal Protector go after this group. Angelo wouldn't actually have to suit up here, but this would be a neat Easter Egg for comic book fans and finally gives us the version of Venom we've been waiting to see for a while now.
Anti-Venom
Eddie Brock became Anti-Venom when he and the Symbiote crossed paths with Mr. Negative. Thanks to his newfound powers, Anti-Venom could deliver killing blows to his fellow Symbiotes and that might be an interesting direction to take this sequel in, especially if Eddie is forced to change his other in order to put an end to Carnage once and for all. it may also allow Anne to become She-Venom!
In terms of introducing Anti-Venom as a brand new character, that's certainly one possibility, but it's hard to say who could fill that role and making him an entirely separate entity to Eddie and Cletus could result in the striking looking character becoming something of a third wheel.
Stewart Ward
Senator Stewart Ward was introduced during some pretty terrible tales in the 1990s and was aligned with HYDRA. However, when some of Spider-Man's villains learned of his true nature - and the fact that he'd been infected with an alien virus - they attempted to extort him and he wound up squaring off with both the wall-crawler and Venom.
If that all sounds a bit convoluted and crappy, it's because it was. But a United States Senator with an alien side could work well here, especially if he's actually serving the Symbiotes and uses his influence to send a group like The Jury after Venom at their request. He's far from an essential addition to this movie, but he's someone Sony could use in a lot of cool ways.
Demogoblin
Jason Philip Macendale Jr. was the Hobgoblin, but after being defeated by both Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, he made a deal with a demon which saw him imbued with incredible powers...and left him possessed as well. Eventually, the demon tore itself away from Macendale and become the Demogoblin, so why do we think he would be a good addition to the
Venom sequel?
Well, aside from the fact that the Demogoblin aligned itself with Carnage during the "Maximum Carnage" storyline, there are lots of ways the character could be reinvented for the big screen and having Venom go up against some sort of demon (who could be revealed as actually being another Symbiote) might make for a fun and crazy dynamic that takes this franchise in an even more OTT direction.
Knull
Venom dropped some big hints thatt the Symbiotes hail from an alien planet, and Knull is definitely a character with a lot of potential in a live-action setting. In the comics, he's the God of the Symbiotes and the ancient being responsible for their creation. It all depends on how much Sony wants to delve into their origin story and whether they'll take this franchise down a more sci-fi route.
For now, it goes without saying that the focus should be on Venom battling Carnage (more on that later), but some hints about the Symbiote's past throughout the movie and a post-credits scene introducing Knull would be a great way of setting the stage for a massive third chapter. In that, Venom and Carnage could be forced to work together in order to put a stop to their "creator."
Shriek
Another of Carnage's allies during "Maximum Carnage," Shriek is an absolute must for this sequel. A mutant in the comic books, she has a sonic scream which Cletus could definitely use to his advantage while battling Venom, and seeing as she becomes Carnage's "girlfriend," Serkis could have a lot of fun delving into their sick and twisted relationship.
Even if Shriek is portrayed as a regular human or just a "groupie" who wants to follow the serial killer, another female character being added to this franchise would be no bad thing. Shriek is a great villain in a lot of way,s and it would be cool to see Venom outnumbered by taking on more than just the one threat this time around.
Morbius, The Living Vampire
Morbius starring Jared Leto is set to be released before
Venom 2, and with Spider-Man likely set to remain entirely separate from these spinoffs, why not start bringing their worlds together for a crossover somewhere down the line? The Living Vampire is definitely a character who would make for both an exciting ally
and enemy to Venom.
Leto and Hardy working together also has some potential, and there are countless ways Sony could tie Morbius and Venom's stories together. Personally, I think this would have to be a post-credits scene of some sort (even if it's just Eddie investigating reports of a vampire), but this may not be a crossover fans want depending how good or bad
Morbius is.
Carnage
Cletus Kasady was introduced in Venom's post-credits scene, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will appear in the sequel. After all, we've seen many teases in the past which haven't led anywhere and that's something Sony is definitely guilty of (just look at
The Amazing Spider-Man movies).
Carnage needs to factor into this sequel, though, because him coming to blows with Venom would be truly epic. Whether Woody Harrelson and his silly looking wig will return is hard to say now that there's a new director on board, but those scenes pitting Venom against Riot were a highlight, so you have to hope that Serkis will not only deliver more of that but also improve on it for a violent, epic tale.
How could Venom be brought into the Marvel
Cinematic Universe? Hit the "View List" button to find out!
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.