Warning: MAJOR SPOILERS for Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home are ahead!
Just a few months ago, moviegoing audiences reunite with Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock his symbiote partner in Venom: Let There Be Carnage. While the sequel’s main story wrapped up nicely with Venom defeating Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady/Carnage, we left off on a weird note with our main protagonists being transported to the MCU and learning about Tom Holland’s Spider-Man. Well, it turns out that we didn’t have to wait until Venom 3 to have this plot twist resolved; that’s already happened!
Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters, and following the conclusion of its main story, Tom Hardy’s Venom cameoed as a byproduct of the movie’s multiversal shenanigans. We’re here to talk about the broader implications this cameo has for both the Spider-Man and Venom film series. But before going further, be sure to read through our piece detailing what happened in No Way Home’s end-credits scenes. Ok, everyone caught up to speed? Good, let’s get going, starting with a peculiar plot inconsistency this cameo presented.
Why Was Venom Brought To The MCU?
When Peter Parker interfered with the spell Doctor Strange cast to make the world forget he was Spider-Man, it resulted in “visitors” from other universes being brought into the MCU, and they all shared one thing in common: in their reality, they know their version of Peter is the Web-Slinger. This makes sense for Doctor Octopus, Green Goblin, Electro, Lizard and Sandman, but not so much for Venom. That’s because unlike his comics counterpart and Topher Grace’s Venom from Spider-Man 3, Tom Hardy’s Venom had no ties with any Spider-Man in his universe. He didn’t know there was even such a thing as a Spider-Man until he ended up at that hotel in the MCU’s Mexico and saw the superhero on TV.
So what’s going on here? Does this incarnation of Eddie Brock know a Peter Parker in his universe, and that plus his symbiote-powered abilities was enough to draw him into the MCU? As another option, in Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the Venom symbiote told Eddie that through the symbiote hive mind, these creatures have knowledge of other universes. Maybe somehow the knowledge the Venom symbiote from Spider-Man 3 obtained before it was destroyed was passed on to the hive mind, and the Venom we’re now following along with on the big screen has been unconsciously accessing it. Or maybe despite the fact that Tom Hardy’s Venom came to be without Spider-Man, there’s some mysterious force that recognizes that Spider-Man and Venom are tied together on a cosmic level, and that was enough to bring this Venom into the MCU with those other characters.
This is all pretty confusing, but who knows if this will ever be cleared up. Anyways, onto other matters.
How Tom Hardy’s Venom And Tom Holland’s Spider-Man Are Now Connected
After learning about the MCU’s superhumans, Thanos, who snapped away half of all life disappear in the universe for five years, Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote floated the idea of protecting the people of this reality. But right after they decided to track down Spider-Man in New York, the duo was transported back to their universe by Doctor Strange’s second spell. So that’s the end of this particular story, right? Not quite.
Tom Hardy’s Venom is no longer in the MCU, but a piece of the symbiote was left behind in that bar. While it’s unclear if the symbiote piece retains the full intelligence of its full form, at the very least, it’s moving and possesses certain instincts. Because Spider-Man was the last thing Venom thought about in the MCU before being forceful ejected, perhaps that miniature symbiote that will surely grow in size will feel compelled to find the web-spinning superhero. Assuming that’s the case, we may be in store for the MCU’s take on the Alien Costume Saga, if more Tom Holland-led Spider-Man movies are indeed on the horizon.
What Does This Mean For A Spider-Man/Venom Crossover?
Even though the origin story of Tom Hardy’s Venom was told without Spider-Man’s involvement, there has been plenty of calls over the years for this version of the character to clash with Tom Holland’s Peter Parker. Hardy is certainly game for that to happen, and Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis thinks such a crossover is inevitable. Naturally after seeing Let There Be Carnage’s mid-credits scene, a lot of people thought the pieces had been put into place for a Spider-Man/Venom crossover, whether it happened in Venom 3 or a fourth MCU-set Spider-Man movie.
That's definitely still possible, but it doesn’t feel like quite as sure a thing anymore. On the one hand, if something happened that allowed for Spider-Man villains to be thrown into MCU, why couldn’t Tom Holland’s Peter Parker be pulled into Sony’s Marvel Universe through some bizarre event. The events of Loki paved the way for the multiverse to start affecting the MCU, and I suspect that whatever goes down Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will weaken those barriers further. It’s easy enough to craft a scenario where Peter is pulled into this other reality and then either fights Venom the whole time or just scuffles with him briefly, followed by the two of them teaming up to deal with a bigger threat.
However, the fact that a piece of the Venom symbiote was left behind in the MCU has me thinking Marvel and Sony want the best of both worlds. With that one move, the foundation has been established for the MCU to eventually deliver its own Venom. Peter Parker bonds with the symbiote, wears the black suit for a time, eventually gets it off of himself and then the symbiote bonds with someone else, be it this universe’s Eddie Brock, Flash Thompson or a different character. Boom, a new Venom is on the cinematic table!
Meanwhile, Tom Hardy’s Venom gets to keep leading his own film series in a different universe without Spider-Man factoring into his life anymore. Unless, of course, events are put into motion that lead to Sony’s Marvel Universe getting its own Spider-Man. Still, given how commercially successful the Venom movies have been without a Spider-Man in any shape or form being present, I wouldn’t be surprised if Venom 3 was also a Wall-Crawler-less affair. We need to be prepared for the possibility that Venom: Let There Be Carnage and Spider-Man: No Way Home’s mid-credits scenes are the extent of his connection to Spidey. But hey, the upside is that if Hardy’s Venom hasn’t been your cup of tea, a new one could be on the way that’s more to your liking.
There’s a lot of uncertainty surrounding both the Spider-Man and Venom film series right now, but you can count on CinemaBlend to keep you apprised of the biggest developments concerning both these properties. Don’t forget to look through our upcoming Marvel movies guide to learn what the MCU is sending to theaters in the coming years. Fans of Sony’s Marvel Universe can look forward to Morbius arriving on January 28, 2022, followed by Kraven the Hunter on January 13, 2023.
