Following the $856.1 million haul of Venom, it's no surprise that Sony is charging ahead with a sequel, with star Tom Hardy, but without director Ruben Fleischer. The studio reportedly met with performance-capture maestro Andy Serkis about stepping behind the camera. However, according to Variety, he's only one of the director candidates, along with Travis Knight (Bumblebee) and Rupert Wyatt (Rise of the Planet of the Apes).
Taking nothing away from Knight and Wyatt, both proven talents, but Venom 2 should be placed in the hands of Serkis. The more you think about it, the more it looks like a match made in heaven.
Serkis' work in motion capture has been critically lauded. His portrayal of Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey made him a virtual household name. However, it was his performance as Caesar in the rebooted Planet of the Apes trilogy that established him as a master of his craft. Serkis brought a soul to the CGI character, and played a big part in redefining what's possible in film.
It's his ability to connect with, and transform, these computer-generated characters that's resulted in him becoming the go-to person for performance capture. Now, imagine what he could do with the likes of Venom and Carnage.
Venom featured a host of decent special effects and motion capture, but there's so much more that can be done with the symbiotes. While Serkis might not star in Venom 2, his guidance and knowledge of the art is paramount to elevating the film to the next level.
In terms of his directing ability, Serkis acted as a second-unit director for the last two Hobbit films and helmed two productions on his own. While his directing resume isn't as expansive as Fleischer, Knight or Wyatt, his work on Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle proves he has a knack for dark and violent tones, as well as managing a superstar cast.
Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle didn't exactly wow the critics or audience, but it's much closer to the original tone of Rudyard Kipling's All the Mowgli Stories than the Disney movies. This shows that Serkis is a student of his projects and isn't afraid to dive into the meatier, grittier stories rather than coast along on the superficial.
Amazingly, Serkis succeeded in doing this within the realm of PG-13, the same expected rating as Venom 2. While the history between Carnage and Venom is extremely violent and bloody, the film won't be rated R (according to producer Avi Arad), and it doesn't need to be. Having dealt with monsters of all varieties in his previous films, Serkis will surely understand how to tackle one like Cletus Kasady/Carnage within the confines of a more general rating.
With Sony eyeing a November 2019 production start date for Venom 2, an announcement on the director is imminent. Let's hope that it's Serkis who gets the nod over the others, as he could pull off something sensational here.
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