Sony's Black Panther actress Sope Aluko to the cast in a mystery role. Aluko played the character credited only as "Shaman" in the Ryan Coogler-directed blockbuster, portraying a Wakandan spiritual leader who learns under the older, wiser Zuri (Forest Whitaker). Her role in Venom, however, is a mystery to this point. And it remains unclear whether it relates at all to Black Panther or the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Venom, which stars Tom Hardy as the title character and is directed by Spider-Man to the MCU in the first place. But statements from the top of Marvel have mostly described Venom as strictly a Sony production. Still, that doesn't make the casting of Aluko any less intriguing.

Related: How a Peter Parker Cameo Could Fit Into Venom

Venom does connect to the MCU.

Eddie Brock screams in Venom

Comments from Amy Pascal about both Venom and the Black Cat/Silver Sable spinoff Spider-Man/Venom crossover at some point.

Until Aluko's exact role in Venom is known, you can point to her name and find a simple connect-the-dots scenario with Black Panther and the MCU. While she's likely not going to reprise her role as Shaman in the Venom standalone, that still wouldn't necessarily rule out the movie having some MCU ties. Other actors have played multiple characters within the MCU before. Alfre Woodard played both Miriam in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Though it's clear that the speculation will never completely go away, Feige's statements on Venom have consistently been definitive. Venom could still connect to the MCU in subtle, harmless ways, and Aluko's character could be one of them. But based on everything Feige has said, the belief is that Venom's first actual appearance in the MCU is a long way away. And there's still no clear path for the much-anticipated "crossover" to take place.

Next: Everything We Learned From Venom’s First Trailer

Source: Deadline