Director Andy Serkis Confirms What We Suspected All Along About That Spider-Man And Venom Crossover
While it didn't exactly receive the warmest response from critics back when it released (per Rotten Tomatoes), "Venom" was something of a smash hit at the box office, grossing $856 million worldwide (per Box Office Mojo). Naturally enough, this led to Sony greenlighting a sequel in the form of the perennially upcoming "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," which will finally give fans the live-action version of Carnage (Woody Harrelson) that they have presumably been waiting for. It also brought about a change in directors, with Andy Serkis replacing Ruben Fleischer, who directed the first "Venom."
While "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" is certainly upping the ante by bringing in new characters like Carnage, the question remains: When will viewers get to see Tom Hardy's Venom and Tom Holland's Spider-Man interact on screen? Fleischer previously teased that a crossover between the two characters was all but certain, but there hasn't been much in the way of actual information on that front. Even Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige has teased that Spider-Man is the only superhero that possesses "the superpower to cross cinematic universes."
Now, however, Serkis himself has weighed in on the potential for a Venom and Spider-Man crossover, and his take is exactly what we've suspected all along.
Andy Serkis says that a Spider-Man and Venom crossover is happening
During an interview with IGN on Instagram, Andy Serkis at first joked about the crossover, saying, "They want to know if Venom is gonna meet Spider-Man, but personally, it's never gonna happen." Of course, he immediately followed this up with, "I'm only joking, of course it's gonna happen." While it's entirely possible that Serkis could be just messing around here, given what Feige and Fleischer have previously said, it seems more likely than not that the two characters will meet sooner rather than later.
It's also important to remember that Sony is in the catbird seat where Spider-Man is concerned, and that the character's future in the MCU is uncertain after the upcoming "Spider-Man: No Way Home" — the deal cut between Sony and Disney only covers one additional MCU film after Spider-Man 3. No such restriction applies to Sony Pictures, however, since that studio still controls the film and TV rights to the popular character.
The real question is when such a crossover could take place. Will it be in a later "Venom" movie or will it take place in the upcoming "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," perhaps in a mid-credits scene? It would certainly be a move that even Marvel Studios would pull, if the roles were reversed. Unfortunately, fans will simply have to wait and see what happens when "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" debuts on October 1.