Venom: Let There Be Carnage hit theaters this weekend and has been dominating the box office. Despite poor reviews and a 59% Rotten score on Rotten Tomatoes, fans have been flocking to the theaters to see the lethal protector's latest outing - and a significant portion of that credit is due to the internet-breaking post-credit sequence.
Warning - the following contains spoilers for the post-credits scene of Venom: Let There Be Carnage.
Moments after the initial screening of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the details after the credits were leaked online, despite Tom Hardy's in-person ask for the opposite. However, the excitement is more than reasonable as the scene in question finally and undeniably teleports Eddie Brock and Venom to another universe - the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Trailers for Spider-Man: No Way Home have revealed that characters from previous Sony universes will be making their way to the MCU with Willem Dafoe's Green Goblin, Alfred Molina's Doc Ock, and Jamie Foxx's Electro all set to cross paths with Tom Holland's wall-crawler.
One more "villain" is now confirmed to join the fray as the credits scene from Let There Be Carnage shows the Daily Bugle's unmasking of Peter Parker. Still, a detail in the background could point to a second crossover in the works and an animated one at that.
When Venom and Eddie switch universes, a glitch effect is seen on screen during the teleportation while the room and world change around him. While this is slightly similar to some WandaVision visuals, it is more reminiscent of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
The sequel for Into the Spider-Verse is headed to theaters on October 7th, 2022, almost one year after Venom 2's theatrical debut. Releasing in October lines up with the other outings of the symbiote, and if this is any indication of the new characters that will show up, Venom might join the fray. It's worth noting that Venom 2 abandoned its R rating for a PG-13 one instead, and with Deadpool 3 confirmed to be R rated in the MCU, that doesn't look like it's the reason.
However, a crossover with Sony's animated juggernaut Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse would require a much more kid-friendly approach. When we spoke with Peter Ramsey, director of Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, he confirmed that they talked about bringing in any actor from the live-action films to reprise their role and voice their characters - even Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield, and Tom Holland. With that said, why not bring Tom Hardy on board for the sequel?
A bevy of villains appears in the animated flick, including Kingpin, Prowler, Scorpion, Doctor Octopus, Tombstone, and Goblin. However, there is no sign of a symbiote, so what better way to introduce it in the multiverse than with an already established character? If that happens, Into the Spider-Verse will also officially be connected to the MCU, however tangentially that may be.
To recap, here is the following evidence that could point to the symbiote showing up in Into the Spider-Verse 2:
- Venom: Let There Be Carnage's post-credit scene sees Eddie transported to a new universe.
- Sony has re-named their collective films the Spider-Man Cinematic Universe, suggesting more crossovers.
- Into the Spider-Verse 2 releases precisely one year and one week after Venom 2.
- Into the Spider-Verse 2 is dropping in October, a release window reserved for darker and scarier stories.
- Director Peter Ramsey confirmed that live-action Spider-Man actors could appear in the animated film.
- The imagery in the post-credits sequence for Venom 2 features a glitch effect similar to Spider-Verse.
What do you guys think? Could Tom Hardy's all-but-confirmed appearance in Spider-Man: No Way Home be followed by a subsequent role in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2? Regardless of your take, be sure to share it in the usual spot, and if you haven't heard it yet, check out our exclusive interview with Peter Ramsey, the director of Spidey's animated big-screen adventures below!
It's an honor to share my chat with Peter Ramsey, the first African American to win an Oscar for Best Animated Feature, which he nabbed for 2018's Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse.
He directed Spider-Verse following his directorial debut for Rise of the Guardians, which was a major flop. We discuss his Faceplant episode, which explores situations where people get back up from failure, just like the lesson taught in Spider-Verse.
We also chat about Stan Lee's cameo and how that was recorded, things that were meant for the film that didn't end up making the final cut, involving the live-action actors in the future, and much, much more!
Venom 2: Let There Be Carnage is currently in theaters, Spider-Man: No Way Home hits the big screen on December 17th, and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2 releases on October 7th, 2022.