So, Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures finally reached an agreement meaning that Spider-Man will be part of the MCU once again, but what does this news mean for the future of Venom?
It was touch and go for a while there, but things have been straightened out and Marvel and Sony will produce a third Spider-Man movie together, which is great news for fans of Tom Holland’s version of the character.
The deal the two companies struck will see Marvel getting 25% of the profits from the upcoming movie, but it also means that they’ll have to front up 25% of the budget.
They also agreed that Kevin Feige will produce the film alongside Amy Pascal, which is great news for both Sony and the movie itself.
Holland’s Spider-Man will also get to appear in one more Marvel movie after the third Spidey movie.
This new deal also means that Sony will be able to use Spider-Man in their other properties they’re developing such as the Morbius and Madame Web movies.
Will Venom and Spider-Man meet in a future movie?
Tom Hardy as Venom (Credit: Sony Pictures)
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Marvel and Sony’s deal paves the way for Spider-Man to appear in an upcoming Venom movie, which means we could see the two Toms (Tom Holland and Tom Hardy) get to act alongside one another in the near future, which would be pretty cool if you ask me.
Hardy is currently working on the script for the Venom sequel with its new director, Andy Serkis, and it’s believed to include Carnage if the first movie’s post-credit scene is anything to go by.
Woody Harrelson appeared briefly as Cletus Kasady (a.k.a. Carnage) at the very end of the movie sporting a rather suspicious-looking red wig.
With Venom 2 only being in its post-production phase, there’s still time to bring Tom Holland’s Peter Parker into the picture, which technically means that Venom would be part of the MCU, albeit only loosely connected.
Does this now mean that we have to add our Blu-rays of Venom to our MCU pile, or can we keep them separate? Probably not.
It’s important to note that Feige’s remained tight-lipped on the subject of Venom, and reading between the lines it seems as though he’s not particularly keen on the idea of bringing the character into the MCU fold.
The first movie was financially successful, and Tom Hardy was brilliant as Eddie Brock, and I’m sure that Feige would love to have him be in the MCU. However, the film wasn’t very well received by critics, and it doesn’t quite match the current tone of the MCU.
Yet, Venom isn’t the only headache Feige has to deal with. He’s also got to figure out how he’s going to bring the likes of Deadpool into the MCU after Disney’s acquisition of Fox.
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Spider-Man and Venom fighting one another in the comics (Credit: Marvel Comics)
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That problem might be a slightly more difficult one to solve since Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool is already a well-established character and Fox had created a really successful franchise with it.
What could end up happening is that the Venom and Deadpool movies – which are both a bit more violent and foul-mouthed than the other films in the MCU – could operate outside of the core MCU films, yet still be vaguely connected to them.
Perhaps Marvel will allow Sony to use certain characters from the main Marvel movies in their Venom, Morbius and Madame Web films. That could be one way to make certain sections of the fandom happy without having these Sony operated Marvel characters turning up in their next slew of Avengers movies.
One thing is for sure, Sony Pictures will now do everything in their power to ensure that Tom Holland’s Spider-Man and Tom Hardy’s Venom meet each other in an upcoming film.
The two characters have a rather sordid history in the comics, however, Hardy’s version of the character isn’t a straight villain, but that doesn’t mean that Eddie Brock and Peter Parker won’t end up coming to blows over something.
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Topher Grace as Venom in Spider-Man 3 (Credit: Sony Pictures)
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It would make for a really interesting movie if done correctly. We all know what can happen if Venom and Spider-Man are approached poorly. Just watch Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 3 to see how it shouldn’t be done.
As far as Deadpool is concerned, Marvel and Disney would really miss a trick if they didn’t have Ryan Reynolds’ version of the character crack a bunch of jokes at their expense in the next movie, should they decide to go ahead with it.
I would love to see a world in which Marvel makes a bunch of more R-rated superhero movies which are adjacent to their main films in the MCU.
I’m not entirely sure if Marvel Studios and Feige would ever want to go down this road, but the option is there now and it would be great to see them try their hand at something slightly different and explore more adult themes in their films.
What do you think will happen to Venom? Let us know in the comments below or on our Facebook or Instagram pages!
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I don’t trust Sony in handling this, as they could easily blow it all over again, thus Venom could appear in the MCU, where he would face Spider-Man, Ant-Man and Wasp, before all four of them could end up fighting Carnage.