Love or hate Venom: The Last Dance, it's hard to deny that the threequel's visuals were impressive. In a chaotic, action-packed final act, the Lethal Protector was joined by several unidentified Symbiotes who help battle Knull's rampaging Xenomorph.
Most of them died, with only Juno Temple's Agony left to fight another day. The movie confirmed that Toxin is still out there (we believe Patrick Mulligan was decked out in Lasher) but almost all the remaining aliens have now been identified by VFX Supervisor Aharon Bourland.
Talking to Art Of VFX, he explained, "Each symbiote started with research into their comic book versions, and from there, we evolved those into 'hero' versions that fit the story. It was really important that each symbiote had a unique set of abilities that complemented the others and helped move the story forward."
"For example, Lava's red and yellow fire whip worked well with the tendril cage that Animal/Tendril used to restrain the Xenophage. Dr. Payne's symbiote was also tied thematically to her character," Bourland continued. "Her life was changed by a lightning bolt, and when she bonded with the symbiote, it gave her lightning-like abilities, bringing her story full circle."
So, Animal, Tendril, and Lava, three newly created characters for Venom: The Last Dance alongside...Jim? That's how Bourland identified another of the Symbiotes.
"The big advancement was in the design of the symbiote army that helped Venom in the final battle. Each symbiote had its own unique abilities, which really influenced how they behaved and how the fight was choreographed," he noted. "For example, Jim (the copper-brown symbiote) was a bruiser with powerful punching fists, while Lasher (the green-red symbiote) was quick and a slashing attacker."
"As a team, each symbiote played a key role in the fight. We also introduced something new by having two of the symbiotes combine to create a hybrid with new powers. We did this with Animal and Tendril, and it really added another layer to the action!"
Talking about the alien that bonds with Mulligan, Bourland revealed, "Kelly had a unique vision for him - she wanted a snake-like, semi-transparent 'water god' look. Dave Lee and his team at DNEG did a fantastic job bringing that vision to life."
Seeing as these Symbiotes were chewed up and spat out by the Xenophage (literally), it's probably for the best that this movie dreamed up a handful of new characters rather than wasting anyone from the comics.
Of course, one big way it did pay homage to the source material is with the introduction of Knull, God of the Symbiotes. According to the VFX Supervisor, the source material was key in bringing the King in Black into live-action.
"We went straight to the comic source material to bring Knull to life. Our goal was to make him feel like he stepped right out of the comics, with just a few tweaks to his eyes and mouth to help with expression and clarity of speech," Bourland told the site. "We wanted fans to feel like this was the Knull they knew, just in cinematic form."
"His prison, though, gave us more room for interpretation. We drew a lot from The King In Black series and then evolved those visuals using techniques we'd developed for Venom's goo in the previous films," he continued. "This approach helped integrate Knull's world into Venom's cinematic language and really cemented their connection."
Venom: The Last Dance is now playing in theaters.