Venom may have been napalmed by critics, but that didn’t stop it from making a stupid amount of money in ticket sales worldwide. With so much commercial success, it was only a matter of time before Sony Pictures announced a sequel, directed by none other than Andy Serkis.
For better or worse, a lot of things were left out of the first Venom movie. Some elements worked while others left fans scratching their heads in confusion and disbelief. Overall, the sequel has plenty of room for course correction and is ripe with opportunity to really supercharge the franchise. With Tom Hardy back as the charismatic symbiote and Spider-Man back in Sony’s standalone universe, here are a few things fans definitely want to see in Andy Serkis’ upcoming sequel to Venom.
10 Rated R
While audiences enjoyed Venom to the tune of $856M in box-office sales, fans of the character expected a lot more gore than what we were given. Venom is a violent antihero who kills his enemies by turning them inside out. Literally. It’s a shame that everything gruesome and grotesque about the symbiote was watered down to fit the film’s PG-13 rating. If Carnage is going to be the main villain in the sequel, there's no way to tell his story in graphic detail without treading that Rated-R territory.
Hopefully with Andy Serkis on board as the director of Venom 2, we might get to see a darker take on Eddie Brock, his alien friend, and especially Carnage.
9 More Horror, Less Comedy
The first Venom movie did one thing right; it got the character’s sense of humor down to a tee. Contrary to popular belief, Venom isn’t a brooding, one-dimensional creature. In the comics, he has a goofy, almost Drax-the-Destroyer-like naivety to him.
That being said, Venom creator Todd McFarlane (of Spawn fame) always surrounded the character with an element of horror. Venom does sport a terrifying aesthetic after all. While it’s fun to see Eddie and Venom banter like an old married couple, slightly less comedy and a little more horror would add a unique twist to the sequel... especially with Andy Serkis at the helm.
8 Symbiote Backstory
In Venom, one of the most interesting revelations was that on his home planet, Eddie Brock’s symbiote is actually not that strong. In fact, he’s more like the runt of the pack or in his own words, “a loser”. This gives the character a Superman-esque twist. As in on Krypton, Kal-El isn’t some sort of demigod… he’s just a guy.
What is a planet full of symbiotes like? Where are the other aliens? Why are they so sensitive to high-frequency sounds? Wouldn’t it be fun to see Eddie Brock in space this time around, trying to help Venom deal with stuff on his world… the same way Venom helped Eddie in the first movie?
7 Absolute Carnage
As revealed in Venom’s post-credits sting, Carnage is coming and he’ll be played by Woody Harrelson. Although, hopefully this time he won’t be wearing a Carrot Top wig.
Carnage is a malevolent, incredibly powerful symbiote that latches onto serial killer Cletus Kasady to form the perfect fit. While there are many iterations of Carnage that the sequel could pull from, writer Donny Cates’ current run called Absolute Carnage would give the movie a thriller-esque twist. In it, Carnage is back and more vicious than ever - and this time he’s hunting every single person who has ever bonded with a symbiote. A serial killer symbiote that only Venom can put an end to sounds like an absolute blast!
6 Anti-Venom
Anti-Venom is an interesting twist on the classic symbiote. In the comics, Eddie Brock is cancer-free (long story) when his old symbiote attempts to bond with him again. Eddie’s heightened antibodies react with the symbiote, causing it to turn white. The result is an enhanced Venom immune to fire and sound-based attacks.
While it’ll be hard to get all of Anti-Venom’s backstory in one movie, Eddie Brock might need an upgraded version of his symbiote if he’s going to defeat Carnage. Introducing Anti-Venom as an evolved version of Eddie’s symbiote would be a cool nod to the fans. Also, a live-action Anti-Venom would look awesome.
5 More Michelle Williams
Underutilizing Michelle Williams in Venom was an absolute crime on the film’s part. Here’s an actress who was nominated for an Academy award not once, not twice, but four times! And all she got to do in Venom was look confused and play She-Venom for a few seconds.
Hopefully director Andy Serkis gives Williams more to do in Venom 2. She’s a powerhouse actor capable of carrying the entire film on her back. Relegating Michelle Williams to a role that could have been played by practically anyone is nothing short of a wasted opportunity.
4 Jared Leto’s Morbius
Sony Pictures has wanted, for ages, to create their own shared universe much like the MCU. Venom was a legitimate hit for the studio and now they’ve tapped Jared Leto to play Morbius, the Living Vampire, in a movie that exists in the same continuity as Venom. In fact, with Spider-Man leaving the Marvel Cinematic Universe, both Venom and Morbius are now officially part of Sony’s adjusted Spider-Man canon.
Giving us a glimpse of Morbius would be a good way of establishing this new shared universe. This could either be an Easter Egg or a post-credits teaser. Either way, showing the Living Vampire in an established franchise like Venom is bound to get fans excited.
3 Agent Venom
One of the coolest Venom arcs in the comics is Agent Venom. After leaving Eddie Brock, the symbiote bonds with Flash Thompson to form Agent Venom - a military style version of the character. Obviously all that backstory can’t make it into the sequel, especially since Flash is still a kid in school if we’re following MCU continuity. But turning Venom into a sort of symbiote-powered operative hired by the government on dangerous missions sounds like the perfect fit for someone like Tom Hardy.
The most interesting thing about Agent Venom is that the host cannot wear the symbiote for more than 48 hours… or they’ll be completely consumed by the creature. Flash Thompson has, more than once, gone berserk and slaughtered enemies during top missions.
2 Tom Holland Cameo
While it sucks that Spider-Man has left the Marvel Cinematic Universe (for now), there’s no doubt that seeing Tom Holland’s Spider-Man share a scene with Tom Hardy’s Venom would be pretty awesome. Rumor has it that Holland was supposed to show up in the first Venom film before Marvel Studios panned the idea.
If Sony is going to make solo Spider-Man films independent of the MCU, they’ll need to re-introduce the character to their continuity in a big, big way. They’ll need to get fans excited and interested… and having Tom Holland show up in Venom 2 could be the jet-fuel Sony needs to get their Spider-Man universe in full gear.
1 Venom’s Classic Suit
Venom’s look is unmistakable. Apart from the bold eye patches and the snarling, drooling fangs, Venom is identified by the large spider symbol on his torso. This feature was missing on Tom Hardy’s Venom for obvious reasons. If Spider-Man didn’t have anything to do with Venom’s genesis in the first movie, what reason would the character have to adopt Spider-Man’s emblem?
That could all change with the introduction of Spider-Man in Sony’s new universe. If Tom Holland does make an appearance in Venom 2, it would give the symbiote every reason to draw influence from the webcrawler. Venom, in his twisted sense of vigilantism, could steal Spider-Man’s symbol as a show of dominance. There’s a new (anti) hero in town, and his name is Venom!