Venom 3 swings into theaters next year and with lead star Tom Hardy hyping it up as "the last dance," speculation continues to run rampant that the end of this trilogy will also mark the conclusion of Eddie Brock's story.
If so, we're hoping the franchise ends on a high after a divisive origin story and a hit-and-miss take on Carnage. Of course, the biggest disappointment for many fans will be the fact this iteration of Venom has never shared the screen with Spider-Man.
The closest we've come to any sort of crossover is in a post-credits scene which teased Venom targeting Tom Holland's wall-crawler in Spider-Man: No Way Home; alas, he never bothered travelling to New York City but did leave a piece of the symbiote behind on Earth-616.
Today, we have a fan poster which shows us what a possible meeting between Venom and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Man could look like in the upcoming threequel.
This would mean The Amazing Spider-Man and Venom franchises take place in the same reality. Perhaps that will be explained by Eddie being sent home to the wrong world, similar to what became of Adrian Toomes/The Vulture in Morbius. We'll have to wait and see.
Here's what Garfield previously said about possibly returning as Spider-Man: "I mean, yes, definitely open to something if it felt right. Peter and Spider-Man, those characters are all about service, to the greater good and the many. He’s a working-class boy from Queens that knows struggle and loss and is deeply empathetic."
"I would try to borrow Peter Parker’s ethical framework in that, if there was an opportunity to step back in and tell more of that story, I would have to feel very sure and certain in myself."
Venom 3 is set to arrive in theaters on November 8, 2024.
Click on the "Next" button below to see some of the Venom
villains we're still hoping to see on screen one day!
8. The Fortunato Family
If you read Mark Millar's superb Marvel Knights: Spider-Man run, you'll know that a wimpy young man called Angelo Fortunato became the second man to wear the Venom Symbiote after Eddie Brock sold it at auction. Finally able to take his frustrations out on those around him, Angelo quickly embraced his other's monstrous nature but died when the Symbiote abandoned him.
Angelo was part of the Fortunato crime family, and as we've already seen a group like The Life Foundation taking on Venom, it makes sense for the Lethal Protector to next go head-to-head with a family of crooks.
There are other ways Angelo could don his own alien suit, of course, but the family stealing the suit from Eddie and giving it to Angelo would make for an intriguing arc. It also means the reporter would have no other choice than to go to war without his alien buddy by his side.
7. Stewart Ward
Senator Stewart Ward was introduced during Howard Mackie's awful Amazing Spider-Man run in the 1990s and was aligned with HYDRA. However, when some of Spider-Man's villains learned of his true nature - and the fact that he'd been infected with an alien virus - they attempted to extort him and he squared off with both Spidey and Venom.
If that all sounds a bit convoluted and crappy, it's because it was. But a United States Senator with an alien side could work well here, especially if he's actually serving the Symbiotes and uses his influence to send a group like The Jury after Venom at their request. He's far from an essential addition to a third movie, but he's someone Sony could use in a lot of cool ways.
A villain like this also leaves the door open to further exploring Eddie's journalistic skills and Venom's desire to be a Lethal Protector.
6. Demogoblin
Jason Philip Macendale Jr. was the Hobgoblin, but after being defeated by both Spider-Man and the Green Goblin, he made a deal with a demon that saw him imbued with incredible powers...and possessed by a demonic entity. Eventually, the demon tore itself away from Macendale and become the Demogoblin.
Demogoblin aligned itself with Carnage during the "Maximum Carnage" storyline, and there are lots of ways the character could be reinvented for the big screen. Having Venom go up against some sort of demon (who we're sure could be tied to the Symbiotes in some manner) might result in a fun and crazy dynamic that takes this franchise down some crazy, supernatural routes.
That's a side of Venom's world the movies have yet to explore, so Demogoblin opens the door to a lot of new storytelling avenues that are vastly more exciting than more symbiote vs. symbiote action.
5. The Jury
The Life Foundation proved to be a pretty underwhelming bunch of goons led by Carlson Drake, but The Jury could be a big improvement and a great secondary antagonist for Venom 3.
Led by General Orwell Taylor, this group existed solely to take out Venom, and they were a huge part of Eddie's time as a Lethal Protector (which appears to be where this franchise is heading).
Each member of The Jury was outfitted with powerful armoured suits and tech based on Tony Stark's designs. Throw in the fact that they had sonic blasters and flamethrowers, and it's not hard to imagine the government tasking this clandestine group with taking out an apparent threat like Venom. Remember, his existence appears to have been exposed to the world he calls home, hence why he's now in hiding.
4. Knull
Venom dropped some big hints that the Symbiotes hail from an alien planet, and Knull is definitely a character with a lot of potential in a live-action setting. In the comics, he's the God of the Symbiotes and the ancient being responsible for their creation. It all depends on how much Sony wants to delve into their origin story and whether they'll take this franchise down a more sci-fi route.
It's a shame that Venom: Let There Be Carnage didn't spend a little more time exploring the alien's history, though the post-credits scene at least hinted that there are countless Symbiotes all connected through some sort of hive-mind.
Knull feels like the ultimate big bad for this franchise, and rushing him wouldn't do the villain justice. Perhaps Venom 3 could introduce him, setting the stage for a final clash in Venom 4? Either way, this relatively new character from the comic books could be a game-changer for the franchise, even as a way to conclude the trilogy.
3. Toxin
In one of Venom and Carnage's most entertaining clashes, the two Symbiotes went to war after Toxin was born. Carnage's child and Venom's grandson, the Toxin Symbiote bonded with NYPD officer, Patrick Mulligan. Unlike Eddie Brock and Cletus Kasady, Pat was never tempted to give in to his darker impulses and constantly struggled to keep Toxin on the side of the angels.
The stage for this was set in the closing moments of Venom: Let There Be Carnage, and there's definitely some potential for a good story here, especially as Toxin's abilities essentially make him poisonous to the other Symbiotes. A cop unleashing the powers of one of these aliens is also very different to a journalist and serial killer, so that might be fun to explore.
This feels like an inevitability for the next Venom movie, but Pat would probably be a better secondary villain than lead, even with the extremely talented Stephen Graham bringing Toxin to life.
2. Anti-Venom
Eddie Brock became Anti-Venom when both he and the symbiote crossed paths with Mr. Negative. Thanks to his newfound powers, Anti-Venom could destroy other symbiotes with just a touch, and that could be essential if we finally see more of these aliens make their presence felt in an invasion.
In terms of introducing Anti-Venom as a brand new character, that's certainly one possibility, but it's hard to say who could fill that role. However, we wouldn't say no to Eddie donning this suit while Anne Weying finally suits up as She-Venom for more than just a couple of scenes.
Reimagining Anti-Venom as a man-made antagonist is another compelling possibility, while we think merging him with Agent Venom could also result in a fun adventure for Eddie and his other. This could even be the next evolution of Venom, setting the stage for very different stories in Sony's Spider-Verse moving forward.
1. Scream
Who could Juno Temple play in Venom 3? Well, we've found our top pick and it's Scream. Another of the Symbiotes created by the Life Foundation after they forcibly extracted five "seeds" from Venom and hatched them, this makes sense on a number of levels.
The groundwork was actually laid for Scream's debut way back in Venom and we never really found out what became of the alien. Revisiting that here makes perfect sense, particularly as it would connect this movie with the first one in a meaningful way. Scream has had a number of hosts and pitting Venom - and even She-Venom - against a female threat has all the makings of a compelling, exciting story.
Temple is an immense talent and someone we can really see doing Scream justice on screen, particularly if she's given the chance to unleash her inner maniac as Woody Harrelson (mostly) did playing Carnage.