Sometimes in life, the clothes really do make the man. However, director Andy Serkis’ big sequel, Venom: Let There Be Carnage seems to be taking that old adage one step further, and aptly applying that logic to the symbiotes that both Tom Hardy and Woody Harrelson will be siding with. And from the sound of things, Harrelson’s role as Marvel’s legendary villain Carnage will have crazy new powers in his big screen debut.
During a breakdown for the trailer released yesterday, Andy Serkis found himself chatting about the ins and outs of Carnage with IGN. It’s only natural when your character’s name is part of the subtitle, especially when Venom: Let There Be Carnage is set to pick up where Cletus Kassady’s mid-credits tag of the first film left off. But with new characters come new powers and responsibilities, and Serkis revealed the following new abilities for Carnage:
He can turn to mist. He can turn to all manner of tendrils. He can take different forms. He can weaponize, he can do all of these different things. With all symbiotes, they reflect the person who is their host. So the darkness of Carnage, the playfulness, the wit, the strangeness. Cletus has a real intelligence and… a real sense of humor, and we wanted to reflect that in the symbiote that is linked to him.
It’s that mentally unhinged nature to Woody Harrelson’s Cletus that really gives his character his symbiotic powers in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. In fact, Andy Serkis teases that aspect as one of the reasons why the crimson villain from Marvel’s Spider-Man universe isn’t as super strong as he’s typically depicted. But that doesn’t make him any less threatening, as Carnage’s mindset still allows him to take on all of those wild powers that Serkis himself mentioned above.
And, of course, much as Cletus Kasady or Eddie Brock share a relationship with symbiotes in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, Cletus and Eddie have a symbiotic association with each other. As Tom Hardy’s journalist/anti-hero is trying to use Kasady’s killer history as his ticket back to journalism glory, Woody Harrelson’s opposite number seems to seek out a friendship. Eventually, that friendship is going to see some pretty wild spectacle taking place, as this is a Marvel movie that makes such promises.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage promises quite a bit of fun in all of the breadcrumbs it’s been leaving for fans. Everything from Tom Hardy mo-cap footage to yesterday’s big peek behind the curtain has an air about it that might even convince skeptics who weren’t fans of Venom to come along for the ride. Carnage’s brand new powers are certainly a cherry on top of the total sundae known as Venom: Let There Be Carnage, but when the film finally hits theaters on September 24th, there’s a chance that fans might look at anything red tinted with a fair amount of scrutiny.
