Does the Venom Sequel Really Need Carnage?

The latest trailer for director Ruben Fleischer's Venom finally revealed more of the upcoming Sony movie's villains. Riz Ahmed's character Carlton Drake will become Riot, a symbiote that appears to be physically stronger than Tom Hardy's Venom and can create weapons - like axes - with his hands... sounds familiar, right? At least one other symbiote - either Scream or Agony - is also in the film, and it's heavily rumored that Carnage will be teased as the villain for the sequel.

But does the follow-up movie really need Carnage, yet another symbiote who's also stronger than Venom and can also turn his hands into bladed weapons, which means he poses basically the same kind of physical threat to Venom? Or should the sequel go in a different direction by using a new kind of challenge for Venom, like Sin-Eater, the Jury, Kraven the Hunter or another option entirely?

Even though Venom footage is limited at the moment, there are a couple obvious similarities between the cinematic version of Riot and the classic villain Carnage. Both are more powerful than Venom - or at least Carnage should be stronger when he's written properly in the comics - and both fiends appear to be quite brutal. After all, the footage of Riot harshly ripping the symbiote's head off of Eddie Brock appears to be a blatant nod to the cover of Venom: Carnage Unleashed #3, and he's also seen killing people who seem to pose no threat. Despite posing a similar kind of physical danger to Venom, using Carnage as the big bad in the sequel would be a great way for Sony to deliver some major fan service... and the "Venom-Verse" can undoubtedly use every bit of fan service it can get since it has rubbed some fans the wrong way by not having Spider-Man play a role in Eddie becoming Venom.

Sony has the opportunity to create a comics-accurate version of Cletus Kasaday. There has never been a live-action of Carnage before, and the Venom-Verse seems like the perfect place for the bloodthirsty madman to make his big screen debut. Without question, Carnage would have to be toned down in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. That's not a jab at Marvel Studios, but simply a fact since the studio currently has no interest in going beyond PG-13, but Sony is reportedly aiming for an R rating with Venom.

If you're going to properly unleash Carnage, rated R is the way to go - he's just that violent and horrifying. The new Venom trailer absolutely promises brutal action, further proving that Carnage could feel right at home in this franchise. The trailer is edited to avoid showing any gore, but director Ruben Fleischer's movie is promising to be every bit as vicious as a Venom story should be. The twisted anti-hero talks about eating bad guys and dismembering them, so one can only imagine how much Carnage could let loose in this new cinematic universe.

While Carnage poses the same kind of physical threat as Riot (but Carnage can possibly get more "creative" with his lethal ways), their personalities are wildly different. Carlton believes that symbiotes bonding with humans creates a "higher lifeform" - he's a man on a mission. Carnage, on the other hand, is pure chaos. Carlton is trying to create a new way of life and maybe even thinks of himself as the good guy in this story, apparently paving the way for humanity to have a better future.

Cletus, on the other hand, has fun destroying life and embraces his evil urges - he's one of the scariest Marvel villains. Because of their drastically different personalities, there's no doubt their dynamic with Hardy's Venom would be completely different, too. The fights may be similar - a clever director can find a way to make the battles with Carnage feel refreshing instead of being more of the same - but the character interactions and struggles that Venom will face have the potential to be entirely different. Carnage can show the world what happens when a symbiote bonds with the worst that humanity has to offer.

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Woody Harrelson is rumored to play Cletus, and this is something that Venom fans around the world deserve to enjoy. Harrelson has the potential to be a great fit for the role since he's such an engaging actor. Sure, some fans can nitpick about him not having a rich head of red hair, but getting the character's personality right is infinitely more important than being 100% accurate with the design - it's not like comics-accurate hair was a concern with Tom Hardy's take on Eddie Brock.

Harrelson deserves time to shine as that classic villain and truly let loose as the psychopath. He's given some powerful performances, and this could be a memorable one because it has the potential to be incredibly entertaining. When you have a talented actor like Harrelson, you don't waste that opportunity. Plus, putting Harrelson as Carnage in the spotlight means a very loose adaptation of Maximum Carnage could be on the way, and that could be a fun way for Sony to play with some of the toys in its Marvel sandbox.

There are a number of other villains who could fuel an organic follow-up to Venom, something other than just throwing another symbiote at the aggressive anti-hero. The Jury could be created to deal with this violent vigilante. The emergence of San Francisco's "Lethal Protector" could attract the attention of Kraven the Hunter as he seeks a new challenge. Sin-Eater could be a way to further embrace the source material and adapt it in new ways.

But at the end of the day, Carnage vs. Venom is something that fans have waited to see on the big screen for a long time. With this brutal cinematic universe, Sony has the potential to finally turn that fanboy dream into a reality. Venom's first threat may be a stronger symbiote, but Carnage's cruel personality is what sets him apart and that paves the way for an intense and thrilling story. It's time for live-action versions of Venom and Carnage to clash, and the Venom-verse could be the perfect place for the brawl.

Arriving Oct. 5, director Ruben Fleischer’s Venom stars Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, Reid Scott and Riz Ahmed.