Superhero end-credits sequences sometimes are more exciting than the film that they are attached to. They tease the promise of what’s to come, and set the stage for the expansion of a world you likely are enjoying. Marvel Studios has perfected the art of the post-credit stinger, teasing Captain Marvel (Brie Larson) at the end of Avengers: Infinity War or setting up the arrival of Thor (Chris Hemsworth) way back in Iron Man 2. But Sony is trying to catch up to their comic-book colleagues by putting teases in its Venom films.
From all that we are hearing, there’s an Earth-shattering scene waiting for fans at the end of Venom: Let There Be Carnage. But the original Venom also had a fun set up, when Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) met Cletus Kasady, and the serial killer was played by Woody Harrelson. A lot of the chatter focused on the massive red wig that Cletus wore in that now-infamous scene, so I asked Harrelson about it during a recent conversation, and his opinion is in the video at the top of this page.
One of Kasady’s defining characteristics, depending on who is drawing him in the comics, is the pile of unruly red hair he keeps atop his head. And the fact that he’s an unapologetic serial killer who, when paired with the alien symbiote, becomes nearly unstoppable for both Venom (Tom Hardy) and Spider-Man. You can see why original Venom director Ruben Fleischer chose to go over the top with Cletus’ locks in the post-credits tease, but the good news is that Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis tones the look down -- thanks, in part, to a suggestion from Harrelson.
When opening up about the wig that he had to wear in Venom, Woody Harrelson told CinemaBlend exclusively:
I didn’t think that was a very good wig. I did think that the wig that I used in this one was going to be a little bit redder than it came out. On the other hand, it worked good. It’s just a better wig, I thought.
There is a strong color dichotomy in play in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, with Venom’s black contrasting the fiery red of Carnage. It’s effective in the film’s battle scenes, which again flow better than the ones we saw in Venom, and it also makes for a thrilling contradiction when Serkis backlights the scenes involving his main characters. It helps that Serkis brought in legendary, three-time Oscar-winning cinematographer Robert Richardson to film Venom: Let There Be Carnage. So even when things get kind of insane, as you might expect, it looks gorgeous doing so.
The Venom sequel, Let There Be Carnage, has a lot of hype behind it. Sony is hoping it will help them expand out its Spider-Man universe, with more movies like Morbius and a Kraven the Hunter feature coming to theaters. And maybe, just maybe, they’ll figure out how to bring Tom Holland’s Spider-Man over to their side of the yard some day. Fans can only hope.
