To be real with you, the main thing I remember from the first Venom film is Eminem’s song of the same name that played over the movie’s end credits. It sucked…so much…but it was extremely effective at getting the word “venom” stuck in my head for weeks after like some sticky alien symbiote.
I’m ready for round two with Venom: Let There Be Carnage, with Tom Hardy returning as photojournalist Eddie Brock and the malevolent anti-hero Venom, stuck inside Eddie’s body seemingly for good. The sequel arrives in UK cinemas this September 15, 2021.
At the end of the last film, we got a sneak peek of Woody Harrelson’s even-more-villainous crook Cletus Kasady—what a cool evil hillbilly name. Back then in 2018, he was just rotting away in jail, but once infected with the intergalactic entity Carnage, Harrelson is unstoppable, making Hardy look even more comparatively heroic in the trailer below’s battle scenes.
Venom has always been one of Spider-Man‘s most formidable opponents, and for a while there it seemed like Sony may have wrangled together one of their biggest heroes and Hardy’s long-tongued anti-hero into the one cinematic universe. But now with Spidey firmly in the grip of the MCU, that seems a bit less likely. In any case, Venom: Let There Be Carnage could be enjoyed as a slightly edgier, stranger alternative to the sanitising omnipotence of the MCU.
The cast includes Naomie Harris, as Kasady’s love interest Shriek, and Michelle Williams, coming back to play the pretty thankless role of Hardy’s sensible ex-girlfriend. With a ring on her finger and Eddie firmly in the friend-zone, I hope this movie doesn’t spend too much time on him trying to ‘win her back’ or anything.
The carnage commences in UK cinemas soon—just make sure you don’t step on anything sticky inside the theatre. You don’t know what galaxy it might’ve come from.
