Let There Be Carnage may not be in cinemas yet, but that hasn't stopped Venom lead Tom Hardy from mapping out the future of the symbiotic anti-hero.
In a recent interview with Esquire, Hardy has spoken openly about putting the foundations in place for Venom 3 – as well as approaching the topic of a crossover with Tom Holland's Spider-Man.
"I'm thinking about the third movie as well, because I think you need to write that at the same time [as the sequel]" Hardy said.
But it's no sure thing. He added that any threequel is dependent on the success of Let There Be Carnage, which also stars Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady, AKA Carnage: "A third won’t be greenlit until the second is successful, but the studio were really, really pleased with [Let There Be Carnage]."
Threequel or no threequel, there's still the webbed elephant in the room. A 2019 report suggested Tom Holland actually filmed a cameo scene (as Peter Parker, because semantics) in Venom. Since then, Spider-Man and Venom have seemed to be on an unstoppable collision course. Hardy, it seems, is happy to add fuel to the raging fire of speculation.
"I would be remiss if I wasn't trying to steer any kind of connectivity," Hardy teased when asked about a Spider-Man crossover, but still tempered expectations. "I wouldn't be doing the job if I wasn't awake and open to any opportunity or eventuality or be excited by that."
"Should both sides be willing, and it be beneficial to both sides, I don’t see why it couldn’t be. I hope and strongly, with both hands, push, eagerly, towards that potential, and would do anything to make that happen, within what’s right in business."
That, of course, might be tricky. Sony owns the movie rights to Spider-Man's roster of characters, while Spider-Man is now an integral part of the MCU. Michael Keaton's upcoming appearance in Morbius (which might now count Tom Hardy among its cast) could bring the two universes together. From there – the two Toms could finally give us the crossover we've all been waiting for.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage hits cinemas in the UK on September 15 and in the US on September 24.
Find out what DC and Marvel have been cooking up with our complete list of new superhero movies in the works.
