Ever since a red-wigged Woody Harrelson appeared as incarcerated serial killer Cletus Kasady in the Venom mid-credits scene, fans have been expecting that the character will transform into the bloodthirsty Carnage in the upcoming Venom 2, and that’s been all but confirmed at this point. However, now it’s being reported that he won’t be the only villain present for the sequel; Shriek will also appear.
Shriek, who has close ties with Carnage in the Marvel Comics universe, will apparently take part in Venom 2, though Sony declined to comment to the outlet about if this is indeed the case, citing the “early-days status of the project.” According to Deadline’s sources, “the net is cast wide toward many kinds of actresses” for the role, with mostly unknowns being looked at right now. Venom 2 is scheduled to begin principal photography soon (though supposedly not as early as next month), so if Shriek is actually participating in the sequel, then we should find out relatively soon who will play her.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Shriek first appeared in 1993’s Spider-Man Unlimited #1, originally known as Sandra Deel, but her birth name later being revealed as Francis Loiuse Barrinson. As a drug-dealing adult, her sanity was damaged by being shot in the head by a police officer and by being thrown into the Darkforce Dimension by the superhero Cloak. It was the latter event that awakened her mutant abilities, which include flight, sound manipulation and tapping into a person’s inner darkness.
Sandra was being held at the Ravencroft Institute for the Criminally Insane when Carnage broke out of there during the Maximum Carnage event. Sandra asked Cletus if she could join him, so he freed her and they went on a killing spree with various other super villains. Although they were ultimately defeated, Carnage and Shriek would team up again numerous times, but she’s also caused quite a bit of trouble with other colorful antagonists.
Outside of the comics, Shriek’s appearances include the animated series Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister Six, and the video games Spider-Man and Venom: Maximum Carnage and Spider-Man 3. So needless to say Venom 2 would be her biggest appearance yet. Shriek has also spent some time bonded to symbiotes on the printed page, but it’s unclear if that will happen in Venom 2 or if she’ll have her traditional set of powers.
As things stand now, the only actors signed on to Venom 2 besides Woody Harrelson are Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams, obviously reprising Eddie Brock and Ann Weying, respectively. No plot details have been officially been revealed yet, but as indicated earlier, the expectation is that Venom and Carnage will engage in an epic clash, and evidently the symbiote-powered Eddie will also have to contend with Shriek.
Behind the cameras, with Ruben Fleischer unable to return as director due to being busy with Zombieland: Double Tap, Andy Serkis was hired as his successor. Kelly Marcel returned to pen the Venom 2 script and will also be an executive producer.
Venom 2 will hit theaters on October 2, 2020, so stay tuned to CinemaBlend for continuing coverage. You can find out what other movies are arriving on the silver screen next year in our 2020 release schedule.
