2024 is, technically, a fallow year for Marvel. Aside from this summer’s (admittedly gigantic) Deadpool & Wolverine, the comic book behemoth that is Marvel Studios has taken a backseat, cinematically-speaking. But the same can’t be said for Sony’s Spider-Man universe. The year began with Madame Web connecting them all, and will end with Kraven The Hunter dishing out serious ultra-violence – and sandwiched between them will be Tom Hardy’s final outing as Eddie Brock. Yes, the Venom saga comes to an end with Venom: The Last Dance – looking to provide some kind of closure on the non-Spidey-featuring and yet somehow Spidey-adjacent trilogy, with a climactic chapter heralding something of a symbiote apocalypse. Check out the full trailer here:
There’s plenty to take in here – not just another look at the Venom-horse (we’re voting ‘neigh’), but a ‘Nightmare At 20,000 Feet’ plane-monster gag, and a better sense of the big picture. Notably, that several other symbiotes are making their way to Earth with nefarious designs for the planet, spelling disaster for Eddie and Venom. Chief among them, the name ‘Knull’ seems to strike a particular sense of fear – in the comics, he’s basically symbiote God. So, the stage is potentially set for a ‘Venom: Ragnarok’ endgame – certainly, this trailer seems to be looking to wring some pathos and emotion from the end of Eddie’s alien-goo adventures.
Venom: The Last Dance is written and directed by Kelly Marcel, in her directorial debut. She previously wrote on Venom and its sequel, Let There Be Carnage. And the returning Tom Hardy is joined on screen by the likes of Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Peggy Lu, Alanna Ubach, and Stephen Graham. Can it provide a sense of closure on the Venom-verse? Hopefully. Will it include appearances from Madame Web, Morbius, or even Kraven? Stay tuned. And could it be a Venom film that… makes people cry? Okay, probably not. We’ll find out when the film hits UK cinemas on 25 October.