Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis has opened up about why he isn't returning to helm the third film in the Venom saga, citing the many other projects that currently demand his attention.
"Look, I had a ball doing [Venom: Let There Be Carnage]," Serkis said in an interview with /Film. "Tom Hardy is such a good friend of mine, and I felt very proud of the work, and we had such fun doing it. To be the custodian of that franchise for a little while was great. I've got so many projects that I was just about to [work on], like Animal Farm for instance. We were just about to go into production with that, and then we delayed as Venom came up. I really have to be very on top of the ones that I've been building to do for such a long time. But I'm really delighted that Kelly's doing that. She's so in control of that material with Tom. The pair of them are such a great team to work with. I'm really excited to see what they're going to come up with."
Kelly Marcel Takes the Helm on Venom 3
Starring Tom Hardy in the lead role of Eddie Brock/Venom, Sony Pictures' Venom premiered in theaters on Oct. 5, 2018 as the first entry in the studio's line of live-action Spider-Man spinoff movies. 2018's Venom was directed by Ruben Fleischer from a script by Jeff Pinkner, Scott Rosenberg and Kelly Marcel. A sequel, Let There Be Carnage, followed suit on Oct. 1, 2021, with Marcel returning to pen the screenplay and Serkis taking over as director.
As Serkis mentioned, it came to light just a few days ago that the tentatively-titled Venom 3 would not only see Marcel return as screenwriter, but will also see her take over as director. The third and ostensibly final film in Tom Hardy's Venom saga will mark Marcel's directorial debut. Sony officially gave Venom 3 the green light this past April, though the threequel currently lacks an official premiere date.
That said, following the release of Morbius earlier this year, a number of other planned films in Sony's Spider-Man Universe have set release dates. Kraven the Hunter is due to bow on Oct. 6, 2023, followed by El Muerto on Jan. 12, 2024 and Madame Web on Feb. 16, 2024.
Venom 3 does not currently have a release date.
Source: /Film