Venom: The Last Dance finally introduces Knull, God of the Symbiotes. The villain has been established as a Multiversal threat on the page and is now considered Eddie Brock's greatest foe.
We don't know what's next for Knull; if Venom 4 happens, then that's arguably the most likely destination for the character. However, if recent reports are to be believed, we may see the King in Black battle Spider-Man and Venom in the web-slinger's next solo outing.
Earlier this week, we spoke to Venom: The Last Dance writer/director Kelly Marcel and asked about the decision to cast Venom: Let There Be Carnage director and The Batman star Andy Serkis as Knull.
"So Knull actually was the first character we went in to design for this movie," the filmmaker explains in the video below. "Before Venom-Horse...Xenophage and Knull were the first two [characters] that went into the works in terms of design. We knew we had to get Knull right. He's a massive, massive fan favourite. We wanted to stick as close to the comics as possible in terms of what he looked like."
As for when Serkis was first eyed to play the King in Black, Marcel said, "We knew Andy Serkis would be Knull from Venom 2. He was our director on Venom 2; Tom and I were always talking on Venom 2 about what Venom 3 was going to be and we knew we wanted to introduce Knull in the way that we have. At the same time, looking at Andy Serkis every day as he's directing, [we're saying] 'Well, he's the greatest.'"
"Knull is CGI mo-cap and a lot of voice acting and there's only one person for that. He's the greatest. We always knew it would be Andy. We love Andy and it felt right," she continued. "We've brought most of our team along with us for all three of these movies so we really want to keep it as a family. Andy is a massive part of the Venom family."
It is hard to imagine anyone better than Serkis to play Knull and it's repeatedly been said that Venom: The Last Dance is only meant as a taster for future stories.
Should the God of the Symbiotes take centre stage in Spider-Man 4, Serkis will reunite with Marvel Studios after appearing in Avengers: Age of Ultron, Black Panther, and What If...?
In Venom: The Last Dance, Tom Hardy returns as Venom, one of Marvel's greatest and most complex characters, for the final film in the trilogy. Eddie and Venom are on the run. Hunted by both of their worlds and with the net closing in, the duo are forced into a devastating decision that will bring the curtains down on Venom and Eddie's last dance.
The movie stars Tom Hardy, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, Stephen Graham, and Rhys Ifans. Kelly Marcel directs from a screenplay she wrote, based on a story by Hardy and Marcel. The film is produced by Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Amy Pascal, Kelly Marcel, Tom Hardy and Hutch Parker.
Venom: The Last Dance is now playing in cinemas.