10 Harsh Realities Of Rewatching Venom’s First 2 Movies Before The Last Dance

Venom: The Last Dance concludes the epic trilogy of Sony’s flagship franchise in their Spider-Man Universe, Venom. but reflecting on the previous two entries does raise some clear missteps along the way. Sony’s track record with the SSU has been hit or miss. While the franchise started out strong with Venom in 2018, many of the subsequent live-action films have been critically panned. On the other hand, their Spider-Verse animated films have been an outstanding success.

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However, all of those peaks and troughs can be seen on a smaller scale within the Venom trilogy. The first movie managed to take in over $850 million at the box office, the sequel saw a huge dropoff, falling to just over $500 million in ticket sales (via The Numbers). Despite this, the sequel received generally more favorable reviews from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, rising from 30% and 80% (via Rotten Tomatoes), to 57% and 84% (via Rotten Tomatoes). Regardless, these movies had their sticking points.

10 Tom Hardy Will Be Incredibly Hard To Replace

Custom image by Debanjana Chowdhury

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First things first, Tom Hardy, playing the leading man, Eddie Brock, was incredibly well suited to the role. Hardy has a long track record of delivering incredible characters and villains throughout his career, and Brock is potentially his best to date. Hardy brings a level of confidence and curiosity in the first film, and once Brock is possessed by the Venom symbiote, his whole performance transforms. His body language, his confidence, everything changes to convey this change.

Related After the Last Dance, would you like to see the Venom symbiote get a new host?

Venom: The Last Dance will reportedly be the final film for Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock, the end of the trilogy that began with the first Venom movie in 2018. However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Venom won’t appear in other Sony and/or Marvel Studios projects in the future. Keeping that in mind, I think it would be fascinating if Eddie was forced to give up the Venom symbiote, thereby opening the door for a new host such as Peter Parker’s Spider-Man, Flash Thompson, or even Mac Gargan as has been seen in the comics.

Hardy does a great job at making Brock believable as a courageous reporter who isn’t afraid to ask tough questions, and the broken man who has been knocked down by life. Thanks to his incredible talents, Venom and Brock now have a familiar style in live-action, and it will be a real challenge to replicate this with another actor. Whether Venom’s next appearance is in the MCU with Spider-Man 4, or somewhere else in the SSU, it’s going to be a struggle to replace Hardy.

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9 Symbiote Villains Are Never As Good As They Should Be

The trailers for Venom: The Last Dance revealed that Knull is set to join the fight in this final outing, but up to this point, the villains have been underwhelming. Riot was set up to be a big tough leader in Venom, but when it came time for the supposedly most powerful symbiote to fight the grunt, Venom, the pair seemed pretty evenly matched. And, when the rocket departs, they climb aboard, leaving themselves completely vulnerable for an attack which causes them to burn up in the confined cockpit.

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Then, in Let There Be Carnage, Venom fights the most widely recognizable symbiote after himself, Carnage. This fateful match is hinted at the end of the first movie, when Woody Harrelson appears for the first time as Cletus Kasady. However, the villain is once again a disappointment as the sequel builds up to an epic final battle, but most of the excitement has already appeared in the trailer, and the villain is easily overpowered and then consumed by Venom.

8 She-Venom Is Badly Underused

One fun element of the movies that pays tribute to the comics is the presence of She-Venom in both of the first two entries. She-Venom is a popular comic book character and the ex-wife of Eddie Brock, Anne Weying. Clearly, Anne’s inclusion in the story meant that the film was able to use the character and bond her with the Venom symbiote in order to pay homage to the comics.

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However, the use of She-Venom is sparse and not nearly as developed as in the comics. This connection between Anne, Eddie, and Venom is unique and causes Anne great distress as she sees the terrible acts she commits whilst bonded. The She-Venom story is wrapped up in tragedy, but the movies had a chance to give the character more depth. However, they opted to only use the figure in passing, and ultimately sidestep any of the elaborate comic book history for the character.

7 The Symbiosis With Humans Is Inconsistent

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But that point does raise another contention with the first two Venom movies. The first film’s entire premise is built around the idea that these symbiotes have a unique genetic code, and while they are able to bond with a host, they require a perfect match in order to thrive. Venom reveals a number of test subjects, both animal and human, being forced to take on a symbiote, but due to their imperfect match, the hosts deteriorate, or occasionally explode. Despite this clear narrative rule, both movies disregard it at any moment to fit the story.

Eddie is clearly shown to be the perfect host for Venom, but Venom is also able to join with Anne with no obvious side effects in the first movie, and he is still able to use his considerable abilities. Then, in the second film, Venom jumps from host to host, wearing the bodies out, but still being able to assume his fully realized form with or without Eddie. And beyond this, the villains, Cletus Kasady and Carlton Drake are both able to host symbiotes with no obvious issues.

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6 Carlton Drake Could Be Seen As A Copy Of Elon Musk

Speaking of Carlton Drake, examining the character in 2024, they bear a striking resemblance to another tech billionaire with lofty goals of saving the world in their own unique way. Despite beginning his career in medical science, Drake decides to branch out into developing rockets with his vast wealth. He believes that humanity’s future rests in the stars, and hopes to find unique chemicals and other elements to enhance humans beyond their current state of evolution.

Related Will Venom: The Last Dance really be the last Venom movie?

Venom: The Last Dance is the third movie of the Venom trilogy, and supposedly the final one. While I do believe that this will be the last Venom film, I am hoping that he will return in other movies. During the NYCC Sony panel, it was said that there are lots of symbiotes whose stories could be explored in the future. I think that while this might be the last movie, it will not be the last we see of Tom Hardy’s Venom. Plus, I am still holding out hope for Spider-Man and Venom on screen together again.

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Today, another tech billionaire stands out, having begun his career within the finance industry, before branching out into rockets, and trying to save humans by exploring space and using integrated technology to enhance human evolution. Whatever opinion people may hold about Elon Musk, the comparisons to Carlton Drake are hard to miss, and as time goes on, the two figures appear more and more alike. Fingers crossed Musk never decides to force symbiotic enhancements on the human race.

5 Venom Ended On A High, But Eddie Is At Rock Bottom In Venom 2

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Eddie Brock’s life is a series of complicated hurdles. He first appears as a successful reporter, with a show that is literally named after him. His popularity seems untouchable. However, when he chooses to confront a subject of public interest, Carlton Drake, his whole career vanishes. But, isn’t that what the Eddie Brock Show was all about in the first place? Surely, even if he’s fired from one network, Brock could find his audience elsewhere.

But beyond this, he appears to be getting his life back on track in Venom 2, only to then fall to a new rock bottom when he becomes a fugitive on the run. It’s hard to align the successful, resourceful reporter who appears at the start of Venom, with the man whose luck has thoroughly run out by the end of Venom 2.

4 Why Did Cletus Kasady Pick Eddie Brock?

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So, in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Eddie is confronted by a new threat, in the form of the serial killer, Cletus Kasady. Cletus calls on Eddie Brock to tell his story, and tries to convince the world he’s a man who is worth redemption. However, Eddie digs into Cletus’ story, and is able to piece together clues from his cell to find the location of the bodies that Cletus murdered. This leads to Cletus being retried, and, with the new evidence, sentenced to death.

Related Every Marvel Movie To Watch Before Venom: The Last Dance

Venom: The Last Dance will conclude Tom Hardy’s Venom franchise. Some vital events should be remembered to fully appreciate Venom: The Last Dance.

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Cletus then sets his sights on Eddie, and when he breaks out of prison, he hunts his new rival down. However, why did Cletus ask for Eddie in the first place? Eddie was a disgraced journalist. And back when he was successful, he was renowned for shedding light and truth on stories that were going under-reported. Cletus specifically requesting that reporter Eddie Brock be the person to tell his story, made absolutely no sense.

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3 Cletus Kasady And Carnage Constantly Fighting Over A Girl Was A Weird Move

Within the comics, Cletus, the serial killer, and Carnage, the terrifying spawn of Venom, share not just a body but a passion and drive for their murderous rampage. The pair bond over this passion, and their agendas align. This makes them one of the most terrifying and powerful symbiotes that Venom comes up against, but the movie makes some significant changes to fit an alternate narrative.

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For one, Cletus may be a brutal murderer, but hes a murderer with a heart and a troubled past. Kletus wants a family and friends, and so, he develops a tight bond with Frances, aka Shriek. He also tries to connect with Eddie, and as he reveals in his final moments before Venom bites his head off, he just wanted to be Eddie’s friend. All of this is in direct conflict with Carnage, who is simply a ravenous, dangerous killing machine. So, Kletus and Carnage are unable to bond, and have an ongoing internal struggle, which is not only unsatisfying, but a departure from the source material.

2 Venom’s MCU Storyline Was A Dead End

One of the most exciting moments of Venom 2 comes right at the end when Eddie and Venom are transported magically to a universe unlike their own. The pair see a news report where one J. Jonah Jameson reports on the nefarious Spider-Man, and his newly revealed identity, and Venom has a clear recognition of the character, setting up some sort of crossover. Venom: Let There Be Carnage was released in October 2021, meaning that excitement for the upcoming Spider-Man: No Way Home which was set to release just three months later in December suddenly got much more exciting.

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Related All Confirmed Symbiotes In Venom Movies Explained

There’s a good number of alien symbiotes in the Venom movies beyond the one bonded to Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock, and even more are coming in Venom 3.

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However, the latter film did not see Venom meet, or battle with Spider-Man at any point in the story. Instead, the film’s end credits scene featured a brief cameo, where Eddie and Venom were still vacationing in South America, before disappearing back to their own reality. They did leave behind a small fragment of Venom’s symbiotic fluid, which could and likely will be revisited in future MCU stories, but the connection between Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and Tom Holland’s Spider-Man never materialized.

1 Despite All Its Flaws, Venom’s Ending Is A Sad Moment

Image via Sony Pictures
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There is a lot to criticize, and a lot that could have been improved in both Venom and Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but for all of these things, the movies were fun. They are silly, they don’t take themselves too seriously, and they use some of the most interesting characters in the Spider-Man universe to create unique and engaging stories. The action is fun, and despite a very short run, the first two movies did a lot to celebrate the anti-hero, and make him more recognizable outside a Spider-Man movie.

Venom: The Last Dance will say goodbye to the character for one last time, and whatever the future holds for Venom and Eddie Brock, it won’t look like this again. Tom Hardy is saying goodbye to the character, and there is potential for Venom to appear in the MCU, but that can’t truly fill the same gap that these movies have occupied. Whatever comes after Venom: The Last Dance is exciting, but this era of the character comes to an end.

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Venom: The Last Dance Not Yet RatedAdventure Sci-FiActionSuperhero

Venom 3 is the third and final installment in Sony’s symbiote trilogy starring Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock. It follows the events of Let There Be Carnage, where the anti-hero fought serial killer Cletus Kasady, and Spider-Man: No Way Home, where Brock was briefly transported to the MCU through the multiverse.

Director Kelly Marcel Release Date October 25, 2024 Studio(s) Columbia Pictures , Marvel Entertainment , Pascal Pictures Distributor(s) Sony Writers Kelly Marcel , Tom Hardy Cast Tom Hardy , Peggy Lu , Stephen Graham , Cristo Fernández , Juno Temple , Alanna Ubach , Rhys Ifans , Chiwetel Ejiofor Character(s) Eddie Brock / Venom , Mrs. Chen , Patrick Mulligan , Bartender Franchise(s) Spider-Man , Venom prequel(s) Venom , Venom: Let There Be Carnage Main Genre Adventure Expand

Sony’s Upcoming Marvel Movie Release Dates

• Venom: The Last Dance

  Release Date October 25, 2024

• Kraven the Hunter

  Release Date December 13, 2024

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Category: Entertainment