Tom Hardy, who is set to star as Eddie Brock in Sony's Venom, has confirmed he is signed on to play the character in a total of three films.

"I'm open to whatever you want to do with it. We've signed up for three of them. So it's very much an open case. We'll see what people's responses are to it. I think it's an awesome character. I love playing both of them," Hardy said in an interview with Total Film Magazine. "It's an amuse-bouche, and for Sony, it's the Venom-verse launched in isolation, as it were. We all prepped for it to be a standalone universe. So whatever Sony want to attach to it at a later date, it's a fulcrum piece. But let's see what happens when it lands."

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Bear in mind that, in spite of Venom's director Ruben Fleischer already having plans for potential Venom sequels in mind, the three-film deal is subject to change depending on how things play out. Plenty of actors who sign multi-film contracts like this do ultimately get to see them all through, but there are also plenty of times in which a potential franchise falls through.

That being said, regardless of or not we will get to see Tom Hardy return as Venom, Sony's tentatively-named "Spider-Verse" is beginning to take shape. Following Venom's release in October, the animated feature Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse will hit cinemas in December. Additionally, the Spider-Man-adjacent characters Black Cat, Silver Sable, Silk and Morbius all also have solo films currently in the works at Sony.

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When it comes to modern superhero films that could potentially spawn franchises, a lead actor signing on for at least a three-film deal is a fairly standard practice. At this stage, it is unclear if any Venom sequels are in the cards or if Eddie Brock will instead turn up in a different Sony Marvel film. However, whatever the case ends up being, this deal suggests we will see Hardy don the symbiote again if Venom is the success Sony is likely hoping for.

Swinging into theaters on Oct. 5, director Ruben Fleischer’s Venom stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock/Venom, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying and Riz Ahmed as Carlton Drake/Riot.

(via Screen Rant)