We all know Venom, but do you know his slightly annoying and more gruesome supporting character, Carnage? Well, you will next year, apparently.
As we all sit here and flip some coins guessing whether the Marvel Cinematic Universe includes Venom or not, we do know who will definitely be there. Or at least, The Hollywood Reporter stated it offhand and we’re all going to run with it.
At this point, I think Sony and Marvel will try to continue their cross-studio cinematic universe. Naturally, this sounds both ambitious and super exciting. While THR says Sony’s current head Tom Rothman is betting big on Spider-Man: Homecoming, that’s a Kevin Feige/Amy Pascal production. In fact, THR details her somewhat heavy involvement in Homecoming despite parting ways with Sony after the 2014 hack. She gave Kevin Feige the green light to bring Spider-Man into the MCU.
Whereas, it’s Rothman who will man the Venom film, “which will also feature the villain Carnage,” and other spin-off projects.
"Another spinoff, Silver & Black, doesn’t have a release date but is eyeing a fall shoot and features characters Silver Sable and Black Cat. Other projects will focus on Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio. The idea, says a studio source, is to build out a world gradually rather than launch one immediately, as they had been trying with Spider-Man villain ensemble Sinister Six, which has been shelved."
Amazing Spider-Man 2 originally laid the groundwork for Sinister Six. Obviously, that didn’t pan out. But after a lot of back and forth, it seems pretty clear that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man will be making various appearances.
"A source says Holland is only contractually obligated to Spider-Man 2 and 3, but the intention is to bring him into the spinoffs and possibly other Marvel films."
Well, Sony currently fosters “intent”. But we’ll see if that translates to cameos or fully fleshed out arcs aside from the MCU. Which, of course, would make Holland a very busy man.
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Venom opens in theaters on Oct. 5, 2018.