Venom lives! Two years after the trilogy capper Venom: The Last Dance sent off the symbiote with a bombastic finale, the Spider-Man anti-hero is swinging back into action in animated form. According to a new report, Sony Pictures Animation is developing a new feature film, with Zach Lipovsky and Adam B. Stein, the masterminds behind last year’s excellent Final Destination: Bloodlines, set to direct and produce. Tom Hardy is also returning, though it’s unclear whether he’ll be lending his voice to Eddy Brock once more or if he’s just serving as a producer or advisor of some sort.
At this point, details are unknown about Venom’s next outing. There are a lot of connections with the original Hardy-led trilogy, though. Amy Pascal, Avi Arad, and Matt Tolmach, all of whom worked on the live-action films, are back and serving as producers as well. Although the filmmakers have been found, a writer has not yet been named for the project. Sony Pictures Animation has, however, opened a writers’ room to start developing potential ideas for a new story centered on the alien symbiote.
The Eddy Brock Venom, as viewers know him, was created by David Michelinie and Todd McFarlane and first appeared properly in the Amazing Spider-Man comics in 1988, though the symbiote was first introduced even earlier in 1984. Since then, the character, who has ranged from full-blown supervillain to anti-hero as seen in the Hardy films, has become a fan-favorite and one of the few success stories from Sony’s recent attempts at mining the world of Spider-Man. Between the original Venom, 2021’s Let There Be Carnage, and The Last Dance, his films have raked in over $1.8 billion at the global box office, though the latter installments slowed down following the comic book movie boom. Sony Pictures Animation may be the banner to give him new life, though, having earned widespread acclaim with Christopher Miller and Phil Lord‘s beloved web-slinging Spider-Verse trilogy, which is looking to cap things off with Beyond the Spider-Verse next year.
Where Did ‘Venom: The Last Dance’ Leave Off?
There’s no telling if the animated movie will continue to build on Hardy‘s trilogy, but if it does, there are some threads to pull. The Last Dance ended with the symbiote choosing to sacrifice itself by gathering the xenophages and taking them into the acid tanks with it. There are hints, however, that Venom survived and could reunite with Eddy once more, if the little cockroach after the credits was any hint at its fate. The film also introduced other symbiote allies and Knull, the so-called “King in Black,” played by Andy Serkis, who vowed to return and burn the world. Despite the symbiote king being billed as a major new threat, Sony has yet to do anything with that tease.
Whatever direction they go, Lipovsky and Stein are promising stewards. Final Destination: Bloodlines established them as masters of revitalizing franchises in need of fresh blood, as it debuted last year to the best reviews of the long-running horror franchise’s history and a high watermark at the box office with over $315 million. They’ve since joined forces with Chris Columbus to create a new installment of the horror comedy Gremlins, as well. Needless to say, Hollywood has high hopes for what the duo can accomplish with some of its most storied characters and properties.
via Collider