Next year's Venom movie considering the sequel's title. Back in 2018, anticipation was high for the first Venom film, but upon its release, audiences experienced something that was a bit anticlimactic. Failing to impress critics and arriving as a genuine tonal mess, Venom didn’t quite deliver on the hype. Nonetheless, the fan-favorite character managed to rack up an impressive $856.1 million at the box office, certifying it as a financial success and almost guaranteeing a sequel would soon be in the works.
And the box office takings weren’t the film’s only positive point. While Venom was undeniably flawed, most fans enjoyed the interaction between Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his symbiote alter-ego. Venom tried to incorporate darker tones, but in the end, its best moments were the more lighthearted exchanges between Brock’s two identities. And now the sequel aims to build on that by including Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady. In the comics, the homicidal Kasady bonds with the symbiote to become the psychotic villain Carnage - a character whose on-screen debut fans have long awaited. With the first Venom film teasing his inclusion in a follow-up, Sony suggested there were greater things to come in a potential sequel.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage obviously refers to the fact that Brock’s anti-hero persona will be facing off against Carnage this time around, but it also suggests Sony is leaning into the more off-the-wall, fun aspects of the original movie. While Venom struggled to strike the right balance between its gritty ambitions and the levity brought by the charismatic symbiote, Let There Be Carnage evokes a more playful tone that will, hopefully, define the sequel. Sony could have easily borrowed from the comics and gone with Maximum Carnage or Absolute Carnage. But the announced title sounds more like a pronouncement from the studio itself, rather than the name of an actual movie. Much like the film’s characters themselves, it seems Sony might just be letting the symbiotes take control.
With Andy Serkis replacing Ruben Fleischer as director, there’s certainly room for a tonal shift with Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Of course, at this point there aren't any trailers to give fans an idea of just how far the filmmakers have followed for such a path. But with a title that sounds like it could easily be affixed to the end of a Sharknado film, it's unlikely the movie will lean too much on the darker overtones of the first outing. What’s more, Sony's other big Marvel project, Marvel Cinematic Universe crossover in the cards, the Venom sequel will also want to try and match the more lighthearted tone of the MCU films thus far.
All of this can only be a good thing for a franchise that struggled to find an identity with its first installment. A sequel that features a lot more Venom liquor store monologues, head devouring, and Brock/Venom banter would undoubtedly prove a hit. And with an iconic villain that literally represents the kind of unhinged chaos fans want to see from these characters, Venom: Let There Be Carnage looks set to succeed where in all the areas where its predecessor struggled.
