Tom Hardy’s Venom to get sequel, Spider-Man to ‘play a significant role’

Tom Hardy’s Spider-Man spin-off, Venom, is all set to get a sequel, and an appearance from Spidey himself might not be out of the question. The film’s co-screenwriter, Jeff Pinker, all but confirmed the sequel was in development, but refused to divulge other details.

“I can’t say anything other than that it is happening.” he told Discussing Film. When asked about a possible Spider-Man cameo in the upcoming film, Pinker did fans one better. “Without revealing anything that I’m not allowed to reveal, it is not impossible that in a future/upcoming Venom movie, Spider-Man will play a significant role,” he said.

Sony chief Amy Pascal had previously said that the studio’s universe of Marvel characters is set in parallel to the popular Marvel Cinematic Universe, in which Spider-Man is played by Tom Holland. “We’re definitely planning a huge world with this Venom story, and we want to be able to satisfy our own desires and the desires of our fans to explore all of the beloved characters from the universe,” director Ruben Fleischer had said at this year’s San Diego Comic Con.

“I think we can all agree it would be pretty amazing to see Spider-Man and Venom face off in a film,” he continued, “I’d be really excited to go see that film. So, I have to think that the studio’s thinking the same way, and that at some point down the road, they’re going to run across each other’s paths…Yeah, I have to think we’d all love to see that.”

Variety had previously reported that Sony had set release dates for two future films in their Marvel universe. One of the Spider-Man spin-offs will hit theatres on July 10, 2020, with an untitled sequel coming out on October 2, 2020. The studio, however, did not reveal the details of the projects that will be released. It is being speculated that the first project, coming out July 10, 2020, will be Jared Leto-starrer Morbius, a spin-off centering on Spider-Man's nemesis Morbius: The Living Vampire.

Daniel Espinosa, director of films such as Safe House and Life, will helm the project for Sony, with a script from Burk Sharpless and Matt Sazama.

The second film slated for release could very well be the sequel to Tom Hardy's Venom, which despite poor reviews has made close to $900 million worldwide, all but ensuring more films. The film’s box office haul is higher than Spider-Man, Spider-Man 2, The Amazing Spider-Man and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 - thanks mostly to its record-breaking performance in China.

(With agency inputs)

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