The first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance was released yesterday and...well, it was quite something. It's a Venom movie, alright, and while it looks like an "epic" conclusion to the trilogy, there are signs of the same old problems.
Sony Pictures has never quite managed to grasp this character, but Venom was a hit in 2018 and Venom: Let There Be Carnage also performed well despite being released in the final months of the COVID-19 pandemic.
That's given the studio a false sense of confidence and a belief that, no matter what fans and critics say, the goofy direction they've taken this franchise in is the right one. In this feature, we single out moments in the trailer which highlight the mistakes Sony has already made with Venom: The Last Dance.
Click on the "Next"/"View List" buttons below to take a look through our points...
5. The Lethal Protector Goofball
Venom: Let There Be Carnage was an improvement over its 2018 predecessor, but even with Andy Serkis' direction, the script (and a PG-13 rating) let Cletus Kasady down.
Still, the movie set the stage for Eddie Brock to become the Lethal Protector from the comics in a third outing, promising us a version of the character fans have been waiting to see on screen since Spider-Man 3. There's a glimpse of that in the Venom: The Last Dance trailer, but it's immediately overshadowed by silly comedy and Venom eating heads in a bloodless battle.
Somewhere in the Multiverse, there's a Venom movie where Eddie Brock hunts down criminals and dispenses lethal justice while balancing his darker impulses and a desire to be a hero.
Instead, we get...this guy.
4. In The Multiverse Of Mediocrity
There may be an explanation for this, but similar to Morbius, it feels like this scene is meant to get fans excited about the prospect of Venom: The Last Dance taking place in the MCU.
Trailers for the Living Vampire's movie teased Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man and the MCU's Vulture, only for the former to be absent from the final cut and the latter left shoehorned into the dumbest post-credits scene ever shot.
Is this sequence meant to tease a Spider-Man: No Way Home retcon? If so, it doesn't make any sense whatsoever, but honestly, we think that's exactly what it's meant to do. We also don't believe Chiwetel Ejiofor's baddie can hop from reality to reality.
Venom previously confirmed he knows of the Multiverse's existence and another daft nod to that follows...
3. Dr. Curt Connors Returns?
Yes, that's The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home star Rhys Ifans in the trailer. And yes, we've heard he is indeed playing Dr. Curt Connors (and that the mother, daughter, and child spotted elsewhere are his family).
He may be a wacky Variant from Eddie's world; however, far more likely is that he's the Curt from No Way Home who, like The Vulture, was sent home to the wrong reality.
Unless we're meant to believe this is The Amazing Spider-Man's world...which it very well may be courtesy of a few retcons. That's probably what Sony wants us to think so they can build excitement for the threequel, anyway.
His arm might have regrown thanks to the cure the Spider-Men made and, if we get Venom-Lizard, all will be forgiven. If Ifans has been cast as a random character despite previously playing Connors, it shows just how clueless Sony is.
2. There's Too Much Going On
If Venom: The Last Dance is as chaotic and messy as its first trailer, we're in trouble.
We have a secret government agency that's collecting Symbiotes, Toxin, invading Xenophage (Symbiote-eating aliens), and what looks like a pretty cliched story of Venom protecting a family. Oh, and the aforementioned Multiverse teases, of course.
Kelly Marcel has not proven herself a good writer with Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, so the fact she's stepping behind the camera to make her directorial debut is a...unique...decision on Sony's part.
After getting rid of Carnage in the second Venom movie - a perplexing decision - Knull or even Toxin and a resurrected Cletus Kasady would have been a strong way to end the trilogy. Instead, we're getting a bit of everything and would hazard a guess that most of it won't work.
1. More Symbiote Villains And A Wasted Cast
We're trying not to make too many assumptions here but, c'mon, those Symbiotes are obviously going to come into play at some stage.
Whether that means a version of The Jury possessed by the aliens or the debut of villains like Phage and Scream is tough to say at this stage; Symbiote on Symbiote action is about as inventive as this franchise seems capable of being, though.
Then, there's the cast. After being wasted by Marvel Studios for the most part, Chiwetel Ejiofor looks to be playing a generic military man and Juno Temple an unconvincing scientist. With any luck, she'll become Scream and get to have some fun. Knowing Sony, it will only be a scene or two.
If you liked Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, chances are you'll enjoy this threequel. If you enjoy good movies, though, brace yourself for a bad time at the theater...