Why Venom Wasn't In Spider-Man: Brand New Day
In "Spider-Man: Brand New Day," Peter Parker (Tom Holland) faces off with a bunch of villains that have made his mission to be a friendly neighborhood Spider-Man that much more difficult. Michael Mando's Scorpion and Sadie Sink's Jean Grey come at him from all angles, and that's not even counting the blink-and-you-miss-it cameos from rogues gallery favorites like Ramrod, Boomerang, and Tombstone. For those coming into "Brand New Day" having only watched the Holland "Spider-Man" movies, there may be some confusion about the lack of Venom, considering that 2021's "Spider-Man: No Way Home" teased the symbiote's existence within the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
The post-credits scene of "No Way Home" sees Tom Hardy's Eddie Brock getting drunk at a bar on Earth-616 (the home of the MCU) before being suddenly zapped back to Earth-688 (the home of Sony's Spider-Man Universe). But he accidentally leaves a little bit of the alien symbiote that makes up Venom behind on the counter, which gives the impression that Spider-Man will eventually encounter the villain turned antihero.
Yet Venom's absence from "Brand New Day," in addition to Holland's lack of involvement in the SSU, mostly came down to the two cinematic webs never quite connecting at Sony. "They were building this universe and they had these plans to merge the worlds at some point, and I think that they just never found the right time to do so," said Holland on the "Happy Sad Confused" podcast (via Collider).
The Venom movies were successful, but the rest of the villain spin-offs weren't
The only instance where Tom Holland's Spider-Man and Tom Hardy's Venom have technically shared the screen together is in the post-credits scene of "Venom: Let There Be Carnage." After being teleported to the MCU, the bonded pair watch a Daily Bugle television news broadcast talking about Peter Parker's forced public outing as the wallcrawler.
Given that this little snippet was shot by director Jon Watts, and Holland filmed his confused-looking cameo on the set of "No Way Home," it gave the impression that they would eventually meet in person down the line. But the largely negative reception to other Sony Spider-Man villain movies like "Madame Web," "Morbius," and "Kraven the Hunter" makes it doubtful they ever will. "The audience is the boss, and they didn't respond. It's as simple as that," Sony Pictures CEO Tom Rothman told Variety regarding the failure of the spin-off movies.
While critical reception to the "Venom" movies fluctuated, they were box office successes, grossing a collective total of $1.8 billion for Sony. "The Last Dance" acted as a trilogy capper to the Hardy movies, with Venom sacrificing himself to save his host from the monstrous Xenophages. But even a mostly clear-cut ending can't stop Sony from greenlighting more projects, as they recently announced they're actively developing an animated "Venom" movie from "Final Destination: Bloodlines" directors Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein. It's not clear what Tom Hardy's involvement will entail, or whether this will be a sequel to the live-action movies or folded into the "Spider-Verse" landscape.
Sony and Marvel Studios might pull inspiration from the Secret Wars comic
Marvel Studios CCO Kevin Feige and "Brand New Day" producer Amy Pascal seem to hold out hope for a crossover between Spider-Man and Venom. But given how different Tom Hardy's interpretation is from the comics, it would make more sense for them to move forward without involving him — and there's an upcoming MCU project that might be the most fitting place to do so.
Plot details are currently scarce regarding the 2027 film "Avengers: Secret Wars," but the title is taken from two major Marvel Comics crossover events of the same name, published in 1984 and 2015. While the movie will reportedly draw more from the latter version, there's still a chance it could retain certain story elements from the 1984 narrative – such as Spider-Man getting the Venom symbiote.
In the eighth issue of 1984's "Secret Wars," Spidey ends up needing a new suit due to the amount of damage his has taken on the artificial planet known as Battleworld. He ends up choosing a machine with a black ball that envelops him from head to toe, giving way to the iconic black suit. It's only upon returning home in "Amazing Spider-Man" #252 that Peter learns it's actually an alien symbiote that wants to bond with him. His rejection, however, leads the symbiote to attach itself to reporter Eddie Brock, who ultimately becomes his nemesis Venom.
Tom Holland isn't currently slated to appear in "Doomsday" or "Secret Wars," but his inclusion feels all but inevitable. If this comes to pass, then he'll join Tobey Maguire — who wore it in "Spider-Man 3" — as the only other live-action "Spider-Man" actor to have worn the symbiote suit on the big screen.