The Tom Hardy-led Venom: Let There Be Carnage may be heading for a new release date previously saved for Jared Leto's Morbius.
According to Vulture, multiple sources indicate Sony plans on delaying Venom: Let There Be Carnage until 2022. The specific date in question is Jan. 21, 2022, which is when Morbius is slated to premiere. The reported reason an official announcement has not been made is due to Sony wishing to wait until the CinemaCon exhibitor event has concluded.
"They didn't want to flash to exhibitors that they're scared of the early fall," one source said. "Why would you move it three weeks? Buys you nothing." Sony declined to comment on the story.
One reason for the extra attention being paid to the Venom 2 release has to do with all the new footage Sony debuted at CinemaCon in Las Vegas earlier this week. Along with the first official trailer for Spider-Man: No Way Home, Sony also released a sizzle reel for the action flick Bullet Train starring Brad Pitt and Sandra Bullock and hosted a special screening of Ghostbuster: Afterlife.
The recent surge in the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in Sony moving Venom: Let There Be Carnage from Sept. 24 to its current date of Oct. 15. The first Sony film grossed $856.1 million worldwide on the back of Tom Hardy's performance as Eddie Brock. Let There Be Carnage will feature Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady/Carnage, who made a small cameo appearance in a post-credits scene of Venom.
While Ruben Fleischer directed Venom, his work on Zombieland: Double Tap required him to step down from the director's chair for the sequel. Instead, Andy Serkis took the helm of Let There Be Carnage. There have been rumblings that a third film in the Venom franchise could be in the works, with Tom Hardy delivering some mixed messages when asked. "I'm thinking about the third movie as well, because I think you need to write that at the same time," Hardy said. He later added, "A third won't be greenlit until the second is successful, but the studio were really, really pleased with number two."
For now, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is scheduled to hit theaters on Sept. 24.
Source: Vulture