After some weeks of speculation, Andy Serkis has been confirmed as the director for the upcoming Venom 2. The film will mark Serkis’ first time directing a comic book movie, though not the first time appearing in one. Many will likely remember Serkis for his role as the villain Ulysses Klaue in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Black Panther.
Now, according to The Hollywood Reporter, Serkis will be staying within the Marvel realm, though he will be jumping from Marvel Studios to Sony Pictures for the upcoming sequel to 2018’s Venom. A Venom sequel was recently confirmed, as was the return of its star, Tom Hardy, who played the symbiont Eddie Brock in the film. The sequel announcement likely came as no surprise, though, considering that the antihero-fueled film raked in $856 million at the box office.
Word that Serkis might direct the sequel first surfaced in July when it was rumored that he had met with Sony executives in Los Angeles. Hardy added further fuel to the fire a week ago when he posted an image of Serkis to Instagram along with an ace and fire emoji, which, of course, was quickly deleted. Serkis today uploaded his own statement to Instagram. This one likely isn't getting deleted anytime soon:
Serkis has been considered a shoo-in for the directing role since rumors of his involvement first emerged. As an actor, Serkis first made waves playing the computer-generated character Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Serkis recently directed Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, an adaptation of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book, for Netflix, which was met with mostly favorable reviews.
Starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, Venom 2 does not yet have a release date.