While some have quibbled about the extremely long runtime of Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman or the quality of the de-aging, one thing beyond reproach is the acting talent of those involved. The Netflix film assembled an all-star cast of acting heavyweights and character actors, any of whom would be a solid addition to another movie. To that end, Sony’s upcoming sequel Venom 2 has added a star from Netflix’s The Irishman.
Actor Stephen Graham, who plays Anthony “Tony Pro” Provenzano in Martin Scorsese’s crime epic, has joined Venom 2 according to Deadline. For the moment, Stephen Graham’s role in the sequel is being kept under wraps. So, for now, we’ll merely have to speculate whether he will be a good guy or a bad one and whether or not he’ll be sporting a symbiote sidekick.
The two time SAG ensemble award winner for Boardwalk Empire joins a cast that includes the returning Tom Hardy and Michelle Williams, as well as Woody Harrelson, who made a cameo as future Carnage, Kletus Kasady, in Venom and is expected to have a much larger role in the sequel.
Stephen Graham is also only the second new actor that has been reportedly added to the cast of Venom 2. The other is Oscar nominee Naomie Harris, who is in talks to play the villain Shriek in the film.
Stephen Graham may be new to comic book movie fare, as he is perhaps best known for gangster films like The Irishman, Snatch and Gangs of New York, but in Venom 2 he will be among old friends and frequent collaborators. The prolific actor previously starred with Venom star Tom Hardy in HBO’s Band of Brothers and the 2011 film Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. More recently, the duo teamed up in the so-gritty-you-have-to-brush-your-teeth-afterwards TV series Taboo.
In addition to his frequent collaborations with Tom Hardy, Venom 2 also won’t be Stephen Graham’s first time working with Andy Serkis, who is replacing Ruben Fleischer as the director of Venom 2. Andy Serkis and Stephen Graham both star in the upcoming FX mini-series adaptation of A Christmas Carol, starring Guy Pearce.
In the new take on the classic holiday tale, Andy Serkis plays the Ghost of Christmas Past with Stephen Graham handling the role of Jacob Marley. One of the executive producers on A Christmas Carol? Tom Hardy. So, everyone involved should be pretty comfortable working with each other at this point.
We don’t yet know the story of Venom 2, but we do know that the sequel will be leaning into the relationship between Eddie Brock and his symbiote hitchhiker, which was such a highlight of the first film.
Venom 2 is now filming and is set to hit theaters on October 2, 2020. You can see Stephen Graham in The Irishman on Netflix now and check out our 2020 Release Schedule to keep track of all of next year’s biggest movies.
