Venom: Let There Be Carnage can set up a multiverse sequel that draws inspiration from the Maximum Carnage event in Marvel Comics. In the early 1990s, Marvel published Maximum Carnage, a storyline that brought together Spider-Man and several other Marvel Comics superheroes to deal with Carnage and his evil minions.
Morbius, which will star Jared Leto as the Living Vampire. Releasing in the same year is Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the sequel to the 2018 movie. In the new film, Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock will be back for a fight with his biggest enemy from the comic books: Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson). Cletus Kasady is a psychotic serial killer and the alter ego of the murderous symbiote villain known as Carnage. Cletus Kasady briefly appeared in a post-credits scene in Venom. As a major Marvel Comics antagonist and a key member of Spider-Man’s rogues’ gallery, he’s sure to be a more than worthy opponent for Venom.
While Venom will get to encounter Carnage, the likelihood of any version of Spider-Man appearing in the movie is low, despite the fact that Sony is trying to link its movies to the MCU. This much has been made clear by a surprise appearance of Michael Keaton’s Vulture in the Morbius trailer, which suggests that the heroes and villains of the Venom and Morbius movies co-exist with the characters in the MCU, including Tom Holland’s take on Peter Parker - setting up an as of yet unused potential for a crossover. Sony could have pulled this off in Venom 2, but based on the cast list for the film, that doesn’t seem to be happening. However, it could still be on the table for Venom 3, which could adapt Maximum Carnage and turn it into a multiverse event.
Venom 2 Is Not Maximum Carnage (Sadly)
Maximum Carnage was a comic storyline in which Carnage escaped from Ravencroft Asylum with the similarly detained Shriek, and then ed forces with Spider-Man villains Demogoblin, Carrion, and Doppelganger. Together, they wreaked havoc on New York City until a group of superheroes stood in their way. Spider-Man, Venom, Captain America, Iron Fist, Firestar of the New Warriors, Black Cat, Morbius, and a few more formed an alliance and went after them. The team-up ended with Carnage’s defeat at the hands of Spider-Man and his allies.
Unfortunately, it appears that Sony isn’t adapting this storyline quite yet. Of course, the movie could do a very loose adaptation Maximum Carnage by having Venom pursue Carnage after his escape - but, trying to work in aspects of this plot without doing it correctly would be a mistake, especially since the comic was a larger-than-usual Spider-Man crossover packed with heroes and villains. Venom 2 has Shriek (Naomie Harris), but none of the other characters, nor does it have anyone who can take their places in the story, meaning it seems thoroughly unlikely this comic will be featuring in the film. That said, it makes sense to not lean straight into this comic in the movie that introduces Carnage, as there is a wealth of other reference material to be taken from before his most iconic comic moments are included on the big screen.
Madame Web's Spider-Verse Future Can Open The Multiverse
Venom 2 won’t be Sony’s last opportunity for a crossover. Another chance will come thanks to Madame Web, a movie that was recently confirmed to be in development at Sony. In Spider-Man comics, Madame Web is an elderly woman with psychic powers. In Spider-Man: The Animated Series, she’s a character capable of reaching across different timelines to recruit different versions of Spider-Man. If Sony looks to the cartoon’s take on Madame Web, the studio would have a clear pathway to a multiverse adventure. If she can use her psychic abilities to make with people living in other worlds, she could be the key to uniting the heroes of Sony’s universe with the heroes of the MCU.
Venom 3 Can Be Maximum Carnage
While Venom 2 won’t be Maximum Carnage, but a third installment could go in that direction – with a twist. With Madame Web and the MCU, the third film could be made into a multiverse story. Marvel is already doing something similar with Phase 4, as it’ll be exploring different timelines in Venom to meet Tom Holland’s Spider-Man for the first time, which is an exciting potential encounter that’s been talked about for a while now.
It could be that in Venom 3, Venom, Spider-Man, Madame Web, and Morbius will have to work together to beat Carnage, who has yet again assembled a team of villains. In the past, Carnage has found ways to make himself into a high-level threat, so this could happen on the big screen as well, especially if he finds enough allies to help him spread destruction. Or, he could amass an army of symbiote-controlled minions.
Maximum Carnage Could Bring Not Only Spider-Man But Other MCU Heroes
If Carnage becomes such a powerful and dangerous enemy, Spider-Man may not be the only MCU hero who shows up to help. In order to properly tell a Maximum Carnage story, Venom 3’s version needs to be true to its comic book roots by not focusing solely on characters from Spider-Man’s corner of the Marvel Universe. Marvel’s willingness to look outside Spider-Man’s usual allies was a big part of what made Maximum Carnage so interesting. There was nothing out of the ordinary about Spider-Man working with Venom, Cloak & Dagger, and Black Cat - but Deathlok, Iron Fist, Nightwatch, and Firestar were all unexpected and noteworthy additions to the crossover.
Pulling in surprising character choices like these is what Venom 3 needs to do if it is to adapt Maximum Carnage. Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Captain Marvel (Brie Larson), and Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) may be a bit overpowered for a movie with Carnage as its main villain, so it would perhaps be more ideal if instead the heroes selected for this story arc were street-level fighters. Heroes who could work as allies for Spider-Man and Venom include Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Moon Knight (Oscar Isaac), Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), and Shang-Chi (Simu Liu). There’s also Daredevil, who could be reintroduced into the MCU sometime prior to the release of Venom 2. Regardless of which ones are used, bringing MCU heroes to the movie will certainly create some conflict, as they’re sure to have strong opinions on Venom and his bloodthirsty nature.
