Although it was nowhere near as well-received as Sony’s next Spidey spin-off Into the Spider-Verse, the 2018 Sam Raimi’s depiction of Eddie Brock in the wildly polarizing Spider-Man 3. Tom Hardy’s eccentric portrayal of Eddie and a comics-accurate rendition of Venom himself made it a satisfying enough entry in the genre.
Following the unexpected success of Venom, Sony quickly got to work on a sequel titled Let There Be Carnage. While the original Venom movie was a fine start, there’s a lot that the sequel can do to improve on it.
R Rating
One of the biggest disappointments of the first Venom movie was that it was rated PG-13. It’s a movie about a supervillain who turns into a giant gooey monster and eats people — it could benefit from the freedom of an R rating.
It seems unlikely that the sequel will be rated R, given how much money Sony made with the first movie’s PG-13 rating, but it would be great.
A Less Generic Villain
It’s often said that the MCU has a “villain problem,” but underdeveloped villains are a problem with comic book movies in general. In the first Venom film, Riot was a forgettable, one-note evil businessman with the exact same powers as the hero.
Luckily, the sequel is covered in this department, because it has Carnage in its corner. Carnage is a serial killer fused with red symbiotes, so he has the potential to be much more complex and entertaining than Riot.
Jump Into The Action Sooner
Like most origin stories, the first Venom movie took a while to get going. Eddie didn’t acquire his powers until midway through the movie and didn’t decide to use those powers to fight crime until well into the second act.
The benefit that comes with sequels is the ability to dive right into the action. Now that Venom’s origins are out of the way, Let There Be Carnage can be a non-stop thrill ride.
More Inspired Set Pieces
Aside from the motorcycle chase in which Eddie discovers the boundaries of his powers, the first Venom movie’s action was pretty dull — especially the uninspired beat-'em-up final battle.
Venom is a totally unique character, so his action scenes need to be unique, too. Hopefully, Andy Serkis can bring more original flair to the set pieces in Let There Be Carnage.
A Less Formulaic Script
The script for the first Venom movie followed the familiar formula of origin movies. Since the formula for sequels isn’t as clear-cut as origin stories, Let There Be Carnage has more of a chance to be its own thing.
Tom Hardy has reportedly been working closely with Kelly Marcel, one of the credited writers of the first movie and the sole writer of the sequel, to ensure they get the script right this time.
Use Eddie’s Journalistic Career To Explore Misinformation
A huge part of Eddie Brock’s characterization is that he’s a journalist with integrity who wants to use the power of the press to bring down corrupt businessmen like Carlton Drake.
In the first movie, he was a journalist as a function of the plot only. But the second movie could use this character trait to explore complex, relevant themes about the spread of misinformation.
A More Substantial Role For Michelle Williams
As proven by her performances in Manchester by the Sea and Blue Valentine, Michelle Williams is one of the greatest actors working today. But aside from the She-Venom teaser, the first Venom movie completely squandered Williams’ talents.
When she returns in Let There Be Carnage, Williams needs to be given a much more substantial role. Maybe she’ll transform into She-Venom full-time.
Less Symbiote Exposition
The first Venom movie had way too much exposition about symbiote mythology. Entire scenes are dedicated to generic scientist characters explaining exactly how symbiotes work.
As long as Venom’s powers are clear, the audience doesn’t really need to know much else about the symbiotes. Hopefully, with all the unwieldy explanations out of the way in the original film, the sequel will feature a lot less of it.
Lean Into The Weirdness
The lore of the Venom character is really weird, and his position as an antihero means he’s not beholden to the usual likability. The original had glimpses of the potential weirdness of this property, but the sequel needs to really lean into it.
The tone of the sequel should match Tom Hardy’s eccentric performance as Eddie Brock, which was easily the first movie’s greatest asset.
Bring In Spider-Man
It’s highly unlikely that Spider-Man 3 notwithstanding, Spidey always brings out the best in Venom’s character.
It might be best to save the team-up of Holland’s Spidey and Hardy’s Venom for a later movie that isn’t focused on a different villain, but the two could team up to fight Carnage in the final battle of the Venom sequel.
