All The Venom 2 Rumors And Spoilers Leaked So Far

Critics and audiences sometimes disagree, and 2018's Venom is a prime example. Equal parts sci-fi horror flick and superhero origin story, Venom's utterly abysmal score on Rotten Tomatoes didn't do anything to stop moviegoers from paying to see the former Spider-Man villain eat bad guys on the big screen. Venom proved more profitable than any of the live-action Spider-Man movies — including those starring Tobey Maguire, Andrew Garfield, or Tom Holland — with the sole exception of Sam Raimi's first Spider-Man from 2002. Its advance ticket sales outperformed those of a number of successful MCU films. That's impressive, if for no other reason than that the last time audiences saw a live-action Venom — played by Topher Grace in 2007's Spider-Man 3 — it helped to kill a franchise.

This time around we're going to get a sequel. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone who bothered to watch the Venom mid-credits scene with Woody Harrelson that practically screamed, "Sequel Villain! Sequel Villain!" So we're keeping our ears to the ground to bring you all the rumors and spoilers about the symbiote's return.

In November 2018, news broke that suggested Venom 2 was scheduled for October 2020. Variety reported that Sony had two 2020 release dates confirmed for its Marvel properties — one for July 10, and the other for October 2.

The July date, as expected, was being reserved for Sony's Morbius, starring Jared Leto, about another lethal anti-hero who started his comic book life as a Spider-Man villain. With few Sony/Marvel projects confirmed, Venom 2 was clearly good guess for the October date. It would mean Venom 2 would be released on the same month as its predecessor, and the anti-hero is a perfect fit for the Halloween season.

Of course, we know Sony is also in the process of making movies for Spidey villains Kraven the Hunter and Mysterio. Both movies are still in the early stages, but in August 2018 it was reported that Equalizer screenwriter Richard Wenk had signed on to write Kraven. There could be a surprise switch-up in Sony's slate (especially in the wake of their split from Marvel Studios on the Spider-Man franchise), but it seems almost certain that we'll get Venom 2 in October 2020.

If you're a Marvel Comics fan, then the hints about Woody Harrelson's role in Venom's mid-credits scene weren't very subtle. No one in the scene refers to the character by name. The closest they get is when the prison guard leads Eddie Brock to Harrelson's cell and calls the prisoner "Red." That nickname, Harrelson's curly red wig, the fact that he's a serial killer, and his closing line ("There's gonna be carnage") point pretty hard to Marvel supervillain Cletus Kasady, a.k.a. Carnage.

In the comics, Venom's symbitoe species — the Klyntar — reproduce asexually, and Venom's own symbiote spawn had the horrible idea of bonding to serial killer Cletus Kasady. The result of a super powerful alien merging with an already prolific murderer had exactly the result you'd think it would. Carnage has proven to be one of Marvel's most popular villains. He was the Big Bad of the popular 1993 crossover event Maximum Carnage. He's enjoyed a number of his own one-shots, miniseries, and even regular monthly series. He's tougher than Venom and has a body count to rival the Joker's.

In April 2019 Venom 2 cinematographer Robert Richardson — surprising absolutely no one — confirmed Harrelson would be playing Carnage in the sequel. It's a fitting, exciting choice, particularly when you consider Harrelson's earlier work and the history of Cletus Kasady. Harrrelson first gained fame as a kind-hearted but intellectually slow bartender on NBC's Cheers, but one of his first prominent non-comic roles was as serial killer Mickey Knox in 1994's Natural Born Killers.

To comic book purists, divorcing Venom's movie origin from Spider-Man may have been more painful than a symbiote being ripped from its host, but Venom director Ruben Fleischer seems fairly sure the two will collide onscreen eventually. 

Speaking to ScreenRant, Fleischer said, "I'd love to see [Venom] face off against Spider-Man at some point. It feels like that's inevitable." Fleischer went on to say he knew that both Tom Hardy and Tom Holland — who plays Spider-Man in Marvel Studios' films — were excited about the prospect, and that he didn't know whether or not that would mean Venom would or could become part of the MCU. 

If Fleischer feels a Venom/Spidey clash is "inevitable," could we see that happen in Venom 2? It's possible. The idea has enticing potential, especially if Carnage proves to be the sequel's villain. In the comics Spider-Man, Venom, and Carnage have always worked as an interesting trio of combatants, particularly with Venom sometimes flip-flopping between allies. It's enough to make you want to imagine that the sequel to Venom, instead of Venom 2, might be titled Venom: Maximum Carnage. 

Considering Venom's record-breaking success, you'd think the director could name his own price to helm the sequel. But the same Variety article that leaked the return of screenwriter Kelly Marcel speculated that Venom director Ruben Fleischer wouldn't be able to direct Venom 2.

Fleischer directed 2009's post-apocalyptic comedy Zombieland. In July 2018 Sony confirmed the production of Zombieland 2 with returning stars Woody Harrelson, Emma Stone, Jesse Eisenberg, and Abigail Breslin — as well as Fleischer, who's set to direct the sequel. 

As Variety predicted, Fleischer's commitment to Zombieland 2 made it impossible for him to also direct Venom 2. It's regrettable that — since he appears in both sequels — Harrelson and Fleischer couldn't have just... carpooled or something.

In late June 2019 Fandango spoke to Amy Pascal, a producer who has worked on most of the Sony Spider-Man-related films that have come out since 2017, including Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far From Home, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, and Venom. For the first time, Pascal confirmed Tom Hardy would be reprising the role of Eddie Brock in Venom 2, "magnificently playing [Venom] as no one else can." Hardy's return was presumed, but Pascal's talk with Fandango was the first official word on that score.

Pascal also talked about the reports of an eventual Venom/Spider-Man crossover. At first the producer's answer seemed broad and noncommittal, saying simply "Everybody would love to see that. You never know someday... it might happen." Later, Pascal seemed less coy. Asked about Tom Holland's Spider-Man appearing in a Venom film, Pascal said, "We have big plans for Tom Holland to be a part of everything." But then the producer seemed to walk back what she said by framing it as part of a joke. Laughing, she said, "Every movie we ever do! [Tom Holland] needs to be in every movie that I ever work on!"

So there's nothing official, but if nothing else it's safe to assume that — whether he'll appear in Venom 2 or a subsequent Venom sequel — behind the scenes the possibility of Holland showing up in a Venom film has been discussed at Sony.

Naturally, many fans wonder whether there ever will be a Spider-Man/Venom meeting on the big screen — though some question whether or not there should be such a crossover. For Jon Watts, director of both 2017's Spider-Man: Homecoming and 2019's Spider-Man: Far from Home, there's no longer any question. He's behind the idea in a big way. 

Speaking to ComicBookMovie at the end of June 2019, Watts applauded the idea of a meeting between the characters. Asked if characters from what ComicBookMovie's Josh Wilding called  "two very different franchises" would make sense together, Watts didn't see a problem. 

Watts said, "I found Venom to be so funny and I thought Tom Hardy was so great, I don't know that [Spider-Man and Venom] are so different. I think you put those two Toms together and you're going to see something pretty special."

It's no secret that Venom's high profits weren't echoed in its critical reviews. Judging by the latest recruit to the sequel's creative team, the sequel might have a lot more appeal for serious cinephiles. 

Shortly after it was confirmed that Andy Serkis would direct Venom 2, news broke that award-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson would be joining the film as well. Richardson's work has won him three Academy Awards — for 1991's JFK, 2004's The Aviator, and 2011's Hugo — and he's been nominated a total of nine times. Richardson is a frequent collaborator with Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino. His most recent Oscar nomination was for 2015's western bloodbath The Hateful Eight and he was Director of Cinematography for 2019's Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. 

Venom 2 won't be the first time Serkis and Richardson have worked together. Richardson was Director of Cinematography for Serkis' directorial debut, 2017's Breathe. 

In September 2019, reports surfaced that Venom 2 would begin filming that November in London. Sources disagreed on the precise date, with some naming November 18 and others saying November 25. Regardless, production began under the working title Fillmore. 

In February 2020, a since-deleted Instagram post by Tom Hardy was posted on Reddit, seeming to indicate Venom 2 had wrapped filming. The accompanying photo showed cast and crew around a sign bearing the name Fillmore. Hardy captioned the picture with "V2 wrap" along with some emojis. 

In spite of the photo, ScreenGeek reported that there was still filming to be done in San Francisco, which makes sense considering that's the first film's setting. While we don't know yet if all or most of Venom 2 will likewise be set in San Francisco, considering that's where Venom ends and where Cletus Kasady is imprisoned in the first film's post-credits scene, it seems clear at least some of the story would need to take place there. 

A few days after the reports surfaced that the villain Shriek would appear in Venom 2, Deadline reported English actress Naomie Harris was in talks for the role. 

A few days later, Harris — who is perhaps best known as Selena in 2002's 28 Days Later and as Moneypenny in Daniel Craig's James Bond films — confirmed she was negotiating to join the cast of Venom 2. Speaking to Black Film while promoting the thriller Black and Blue, Harris seemed excited about the prospect of working with Andy Serkis and Woody Harrelson but clarified, "I would love to be part of it all, but we're in discussions so nothing is firmed up yet." 

She also hinted that Shriek was who she was negotiating to play, if not another villainous character. When the interviewer pointed out that Harris tends to play characters who are on the more heroic side, Harris responded, "Exactly! So let's, like, switch things up, you know? Keep people on their toes a bit."

In December 2019, Geeks WorldWide claimed to have gotten their hands on a casting breakdown which revealed that Tom Holland was in talks to appear in a cameo in Venom 2. The site was careful to point out that "negotiations are still going on and it is possible a deal may not be made." In other words, whether or not the site's report is even true, it still doesn't mean Holland will ultimately appear in the sequel. 

Geeks WorldWide also writes that if Holland does show up, that would not necessarily make the Venom films part of the MCU. It could be that Holland's potential appearance in Venom 2 could be as another version of the character — just as the Tom Holland Spidey isn't the same as the characters played by Andrew Garfield or Toby Maguire. Or, perhaps more accurately, just like J.K. Simmons plays two different versions of J. Jonah Jameson in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films and the MCU's Spider-Man: Far from Home. 

In February 2020, a couple of photos from the set of Venom 2 popped up showing Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady. 

In the post-credits scene of Venom when we first meet Harrelson's version of Kasady, he's wearing a pretty crazy Carrot-Top-esque red wig. Clearly, the filmmakers have decided on a different look for the villain in the sequel. We got our first look at the new hairdo when Tom Hardy posted a shot of Harrelson to his Instagram — which was promptly deleted — captioned with "Hello Cletus." Harrelson's hair is mostly in shadow in the shot, but it's clear he's no longer wearing the out-of-control wig from Venom.

A week later we got a much better look at the big screen Cletus. Just Jared posted a series of set photos of Harrelson as Cletus, including some shots of Harrelson talking to director Andy Serkis. In the shots, Harrelson's hair is combed forward and shaved on the sides and in the back. As a bonus, there are a number of photos with Tom Hardy and an unidentified stuntman suspended in front of what appears to be a patch of green screen.