Venom: The Last Dance has two post-credits scenes, but are they worth sticking around for? Well, if you're eager to learn what comes next for the Lethal Protector, then it's safe to say you should remain seated.
During the movie's final act - you can read our full ending explained piece here - Knull's plan to free himself with Eddie Brock and Venom's "Codex" is ruined when the Symbiote destroys itself to keep its creator trapped on Klyntar.
In the mid-credits scene, we return to Knull who says that, now the world's "champion" has fallen, he plans to conquer the universe.
"The King in Black is awake," the villain declares, "I will kill your world. Everyone will burn. And you will watch!" With that, he looks up and finally reveals his face (it's pretty comic-accurate but the VFX might need a little work down the line).
What is this setting up? Seeing as Venom: The Last Dance establishes that he needs a Codex to leave the planet, we're not sure. However, Eddie and Venom's bond woke him up, so the villain presumably plans to figure out another way to escape alongside his Xenophage army. There's nothing to suggest he'll head to Earth-616, though!
In the post-credits scene (and it's a long wait for this one), we're taken back to the now-destroyed Area 51. Cristo Fernández's bartender - who was taken into custody by Rex Strickland at the start of the movie - emerges from a cave and runs to freedom.
However, it's then we see a cockroach land on a nearby rock; earlier in the movie, there was a scene explaining how they can survive anything, and one of the containers that previously held the Symbiotes sparks as the bug approaches.
The insinuation seems to be that Venom might have survived by taking a ride on that cockroach. While the Symbiote can't return to Eddie without alerting Knull to their Codex, if the villain escapes anyway, then they can surely reunite to face the King in Black.
"The most cinematic, monumental Venom movie to date, we said in our recent review of the movie, "The Last Dance leaves room for improvement but by upping the stakes and allowing Eddie and Venom to bond, it’s epic and heartfelt enough to leave us hoping this is far from Tom Hardy’s last whirl as the Lethal Protector."
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.