We all saw this coming, right? The only surprise is that it took this long for the announcement to come.
Despite trailers that could generously be described as iffy and a decidedly mixed critical response ‘Venom’ debuted in October to a record-setting $855 million at the international box office. As improbable as it might have seemed even a month earlier, the film was unquestionably a success, having come within striking distance of the billion dollar mark. With that being the case, a sequel was all but inevitable, and now it’s official.
As reported by Variety, ‘Venom’ co-writer Kelly Marcel has been tapped by Sony to write and executive produce the untitled follow up. (Marcel also served as a producer on the first film.) No word on precisely what to expect from the sequel, but given the promise of his mid-credits cameo it will almost certainly feature a return appearance by Woody Harrelson as serial killer Cletus Kasady. Kasady, of course, is better known to comics fans as Venom’s spawn, the villainous Carnage. In addition to Harrelson, stars Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams are expected to return for the sequel.
A director has yet to be set for the film, though depending on how soon Sony hopes to get it into theaters, they may need to replace Ruben Fleischer. Fleischer will be spending much of this year at work on a sequel of his own, namely ‘Zombieland Too’. With regard to the film’s release, no date has been announced by the studio, though Sony has set aside an October 2020 date for an unspecified Marvel film, and, well, there are only so many things that can be.
‘Venom’ is now available on blu-ray, DVD, and digital formats. The film was helmed by ‘Zombieland’ director Ruben Fleischer and features Tom Hardy, Riz Ahmed, Michelle Williams, Jenny Slate, Scott Haze, and Reid Scott in leading roles.
