It may not have been critically well-received, but given the ridiculous amount of money Venom made in theaters, it’s hardly surprising that Sony is moving forward with a sequel. However, because he’s been busy with another Sony picture, Zombieland: Double Tap, director Ruben Fleischer will not return to helm Venom 2. Instead, that job is being passed to Andy Serkis.
It was reported last week that Andy Serkis was being look at to direct Venom 2, among other candidates like Rupert Wyatt and Travis Knight. Now, THR has dropped the news that Serkis has signed a deal to tackle the next cinematic adventure of the symbiote-powered Eddie Brock, played by Tom Hardy.
While Sony hasn't commented on this hiring, Andy Sekris confirmed that he will indeed direct Venom 2 on Instagram, as seen below, making this his biggest directorial project yet.
Andy Serkis is best known for his acting work, whether his face is scene like in Black Panther or he’s motion capture performing like in the Planet of the Apes reboot movies. But behind the camera, he’s been building a solid directing resume over this decade.
In addition to reprising Gollum in the first Hobbit movie, Andy Serkis also served as the second unit director on the entire Hobbit trilogy. Four years after The Battle of the Five Armies, he made his full directorial debut with Breathe, which starred Andrew Garfield and Claire Foy. Serkis then delivered last year’s Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, which featured motion capture performances from himself, Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett and Benedict Cumberbatch (among others), and was originally going to be put out by Warner Bros, but was ultimately released by Netflix.
Andy Serkis will be bringing Venom 2 to life using the script written by Kelly Marcel, who co-wrote the first Venom movie with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg, and whose credits also include Saving Mr. Banks and Fifty Shades of Grey.
No specific Venom 2 plot details have been revealed yet, but given that Venom’s mid-credits scene introduced Woody Harrleson’s Cletus Kasady, an imprisoned serial killer, we can reasonably assume the sequel will see Cletus following in his comic book counterpart’s footsteps and becoming Carnage. Like Venom, Carnage has frequently fought Spider-Man over the years, but one can argue that he and Venom have an even greater antagonistic relationship.
Along with Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson reprising their respective roles, Michelle Williams will also be back as Ann Weying, a San Francisco district attorney and Eddie Brock’s ex-fiancée. Venom 2 will be the third movie in Sony’s own cinematic Marvel universe, with the Jared Leto-led Morbius serving as Movie #2.
Venom 2 is expected to be released in theaters on October 2, 2020, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more coverage. In the meantime, find out what’s headed to the big screen later this year in our 2019 release schedule.
