Venom: The Last Dance has gone from being a movie most fans could either take or leave to one of the year's most intriguing comic book adaptations.
The presence of Knull, God of the Symbiotes, in the final trailer was a genuine shocker and suggested the stakes in this movie will be quite a bit higher than expected. Then, there are rumours about it leading directly into Spider-Man 4 for a team-up between Tom Holland's Peter Parker and Tom Hardy's Venom.
The Cosmic Circus' Alex Perez is the one who shared that particular rumour and he's now pointed comic book readers in the direction of the Web of Venom: Carnage Born one-shot if they're curious about what Knull is after.
In that issue, Cletus Kasaday's dead body is bonded with a piece of Knull's Symbiote by a cult that worships the King in Black. A new, monstrous Carnage is born but it's not this we believe Perez is referring to.
Instead, it's likely the fact that Knull needs the Codexes, pieces of Symbiote left in former hosts, to complete his suit, awaken, and rejoin the Hive as its leader. With that in mind, the Xenophage have likely been sent to Earth to kill Eddie so they can reacquire the Symbiote - which would be a little simpler for the franchise - and release their master from his prison.
This is probably what puts Toxin in their crosshairs, not to mention the other Symbiotes we've spotted in Venom: The Last Dance's trailers.
Amazingly, with less than a month left until Venom: The Last Dance opens in theaters, we still don't know who is playing Knull. One popular suggestion has been The Walking Dead's Norman Reedus.
It would be an interesting role for the actor but scooper @MyTimeToShineH says it's neither him nor Spider-Man 3 star Topher Grace playing the threequel's King in Black...
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 will be released in theaters on October 25.