Venom Movie Theories That Change Everything

In "Venom," Riz Ahmed starred as Carlton Drake, a scientist who bonds with the Riot symbiote and battles Eddie and Venom. ScreenRant theorized that Riot would become Carnage in subsequent films. The trailer for "Let There Be Carnage" clearly indicates differently, but this theory could still hold weight. At the very least, Riot could be a threat equal to Carnage in power and scale, which would put Eddie in a very precarious position as he and Venom try to fight them both.

Created by David Michelinie and Ron Lim, Riot first appeared in Marvel Comics in 1993. The Life Foundation created Riot and his four symbiote "siblings" from seeds they forcibly took from Venom, which technically makes Riot Venom's son. The five get separation anxiety and usually work together, though Venom has easily defeated all five of them at once without breaking a sweat. This is partially because the five symbiotes are so young, and therefore less capable of controlling their hosts. Riot bonds with the mercenary Trevor Cole in the comics, but after Cole's death, he bounces from host to host.

It's possible that movie Riot could have bonded or will bond at some point with Harrelson's Cletus Kasady. Although this doesn't necessarily mean Riot will become Carnage, the symbiotes could team up against Venom and cause a lot of chaos and destruction. Movie Riot was allegedly found by the Life Foundation, rather than created by it, so he isn't as young. This means he has more power to control his hosts. Plus movie Riot has already demonstrated his preference for jumping between hosts, so anything could happen.

There are tons of theories about how Marvel Studios could bring characters from "Venom" into the MCU, especially since Carnage is debuting in the sequel. One theory, as detailed by ScreenRant, is that "Let There Be Carnage" will set the stage for a "Maximum Carnage" crossover event, inspired by the epic 1993 comics crossover of the same name. The storyline brought together Spider-Man, Venom, Captain America, Black Cat, Morbius, Cloak and Dagger and more to fight Carnage, who teamed up with Shriek, Carrion, Doppelganger, and Demogoblin for a killing spree through New York City. The "Venom 2" trailer seems to reveal a brief glimpse of Shriek, which supports this theory, especially since Sony is also releasing a Morbius film.

In the event of a "Maximum Carnage" crossover event, Tom Holland's Peter Parker might team up with Venom, which would allow Hardy's version of the character to appear in the MCU and potentially tie together each of the individual properties currently controlled by either Sony Pictures Entertainment or Marvel Studios. After all, Carnage isn't just a Venom villain; he's also a key member of Spider-Man's rogues gallery and a major threat to the entire Marvel Universe. His introduction to the franchise could and should affect more than just Eddie Brock and his symbiote. 

If Eddie Brock doesn't choose to pursue the Peter Parker story on his own, he could be hired by another familiar face: J. Jonah Jameson (J.K. Simmons), who made his MCU debut in "Spider-Man: Far from Home." ScreenRant theorizes that Jameson could hire Brock to gather as much information about Peter Parker and Spider-Man as he possibly can, so Jameson can publicly paint Spidey as a villain on his webcast. 

Eddie's interview with Kasady makes the front page of The Daily Bugle in the latest "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" trailer, so Jameson almost certainly knows who Brock is and what he's capable of as an investigative journalist. Therefore, Jameson may decide to hire Eddie and use his journalistic skills to help him sow public distrust in Spider-Man in the upcoming "Spider-Man: No Way Home." 

It seems unlikely Jameson will be upfront about his intentions, so this may go sideways for him, especially if Eddie figures out why he's been tasked with looking at Peter's background. He and Venom could decide to work with Peter instead, thereby also becoming villains in Jameson's misinformation crusade and potentially putting Eddie's journalism career in jeopardy yet again. Alternately, Eddie could knock Jameson off his pedestal, which would create a whole new story for the movies to explore.

Since his 1988 debut in Marvel Comics, Venom has had an iconic white spider symbol on his chest which visually connects him to Spider-Man and gives him part of his signature look. However, in the 2018 movie, Venom doesn't have this symbol. There's a simple reason for this: movie Venom doesn't bond with Spider-Man, copy his powers and alter his classic costume design. Even though Spider-Man is rumored to appear in "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" and Eddie Brock could definitely appear in "Spider-Man: No Way Home," it isn't necessary for these characters to meet in order for Venom to get his white spider symbol in a future film.

IGN noted that in the Marvel Ultimate universe, Venom doesn't have the white symbol because, much like in the movie, the symbiote that bonds with Eddie has never touched Spider-Man. Venom never got the symbol in the comics, but in the video game "Marvel Ultimate Alliance," it's right on his chest. The video game isn't considered canon for the Ultimate universe, but there's a neat story element that explains how Venom acquired the white spider symbol.

Toward the end of the game, a mad scientist experimented on Peter with a Venom serum. Peter became Carnage, and Venom had to take him down. He did this by devouring Carnage and spitting Peter out, and in the process, he absorbed the Carnage symbiote infused with Peter's blood. This gave Venom full control of his suit and the white spider, since he had now bonded with the essence of Spider-Man. Something similar could certainly happen in "Venom 2" or another Venom movie, even if Eddie and Peter never actually cross paths.

Carnage is clearly the main villain in "Venom 2," but he's not likely to be the only one. IGN theorizes that the movie title, "Let There Be Carnage," actually teases another, even more powerful enemy: Knull, the eldritch god of darkness and creator of symbiotes in the Marvel Universe. Knull was created by Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, and first appeared in "Venom" #3 in 2018. He died in "King in Black" #5 in April 2021, after Eddie vaporized him using the Uni-Power. Before his death, Knull caused all kinds of destruction; at one point, he even killed Eddie. If he appears in the movies, he'll pose a threat to everyone.

Knull detests light and life, and seeks to bring darkness to the entire universe through having his symbiotes bond with other creatures and turn them into feral killing machines. Knull can control the symbiotes, including Venom, which makes him an ideal villain — whether he crosses into the MCU or not.

In the comics, Carnage begins the "Cult of Carnage" to commune with Knull and becomes his divine instrument of death. This could give Carnage and Cletus Kasady a clear motive for murder in "Venom 2," and heighten the stakes considerably. In regards to the MCU, Knull has used his All-Black Necrosword in the comics to chop off the head of a Celestial — possibly the same head that became a space station in "Guardians of the Galaxy." The Necrosword is eventually acquired by Gorr the God Butcher, who's the primary villain in "Thor: Love and Thunder." Knull's connection to Carnage is too strong to ignore, which may make him inevitable.