Venom 2 is now filming and it sounds like director Andy Serkis and star Tom Hardy are a match made in Symbiote heaven. It was an exciting surprise to hear Serkis would be directing the sequel to Sony's Marvel Universe hit. Serkis is famous for his performance capture roles, but he's also a serious dramatic actor (please watch his episode of the British TV series Accused) and director of the films Breathe and Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle.
Now that Venom 2 is up-and-running, producer Matt Tolmach talked about director Andy Serkis' dynamic with Eddie Brock/Venom star Tom Hardy:
He's a great director, but also he's an actor and he's played inside monsters and he sort of understands character from inside. It's been wild to watch him with Hardy, because they speak that language that only actors understand - particularly, people like Tom Hardy, and what it's like to be in this other character from another realm. He's like a mystical figure, Andy Serkis, and when he's around people you feel his presence. He was having Tom do really well, and so we got to know him, actually, through Tom. He's going to be special. It's a really great connection.
I bet it's a blast with them on set. Both Andy Serkis and Tom Hardy seem very passionate about their work and not at all afraid to jump in there and take big, bold risks. That's part of why this collaboration feels exciting and -- as Matt Tolmach told ComicBook -- special.
Not that Venom 2 marks the first time Tom Hardy and Andy Serkis have worked together. They only just recently collaborated for A Christmas Carol, the fantasy series airing on the BBC and FX in December 2019. Hardy is one of the producers and he also has an acting role. Serkis plays the Ghost of Christmas Past, and while promoting that role, he also mentioned Hardy was very involved in shaping the script for Venom 2.
The first Venom film was directed by Ruben Fleischer and came out in October 2018. It got bad reviews, but fans seemed to love it, and it broke several October box office records (that were in turn broken this year by Joker). Venom managed to make $856,085,151 worldwide -- with more than $642M of that from the international box office -- so it marked a great start for Sony's Marvel Universe. That universe is continuing with Jared Leto's Morbius in July 2020 before Venom 2 arrives in October 2020.
Tom Hardy recently posted (then deleted) some photos from the set of Venom 2, and I for one am hoping his dog does have a role in the movie. In addition to Venom 2, Tom Hardy also has the Al Capone movie Fonzo coming out at some point, as written and directed by Josh Trank. And do you think we'll ever see movement on the next Mad Max movies?
Meanwhile, Andy Serkis is also said to be playing Alfred Pennyworth in Matt Reeves' The Batman. So he has a foot in the DC world, a foot in the MCU as Ulysses Klaue, and somehow still a third foot (!) helping Sony to branch out its own Marvel universe. That universe should include Tom Holland's Spider-Man at some point, now that Marvel Studios and Sony have agreed on a new custody arrangement.
Venom 2 just started filming so it may be a minute before we see official photos, a trailer, or other information beyond what we know right now. It's scheduled for release on October 2, 2020.
