Get ready for a tragicomic clash of the symbiotes.
Venom star Tom Hardy recently took to Instagram to post cool fan art based on the classic
tragedy and comedy masks that date back to Greek theater.
These have a lot more tongue, though.
Hardy clearly relishes playing the iconic Marvel antihero, and the artwork makes reference
to Venom's post-credits scene, which indicated that Venom will have his hands full in his
second outing on the big screen.
In the scene, Hardy's Eddie Brock, an investigative reporter, visits serial killer Cletus Kasady,
played by Woody Harrelson, to write a story about him.
After a brief and creepy round of niceties, Kasady makes a statement that's equal parts
threat and promise.
"When I get out of here, and I will, there's gonna be carnage."
Brock may be a bit morally conflicted, but Kasady created by writer David Michelinie
and artist Erik Larsen answered the unnerving question of what would happen if a symbiote
were to take control of a truly evil person: Carnage, a being so unbelievably malevolent
and dangerous that in the comics, Spidey and Venom have been forced to team up on multiple
occasions to stop him.
Harrelson's return to take on the villainous mantle in Venom 2 was confirmed earlier this
year, and it's plain that Hardy is clearly pumped for fans to witness the epic throwdown.
Hardy captioned the image with a coded message which, interestingly, could be read as "We
are Venom 2" as in the numeral two, or the word "too," meaning "also."
In the comics, Kasady's symbiote was a spawn of Venom, so there could be some interesting
subtext there.
There's been widespread speculation that Venom 2 will carry an R rating, but producer Avi
Arad told Collider in 2018,
"When you hear Carnage, the only thing you can think of is R. But, if you know his story,
if you really know the comic, there's no R there.
He's a tortured soul.
It's not about what he does [...] What you have to show is, what is the motivation?
Was he born like that, or [is he] someone we should feel for?
Because if you succeeding in making a villain someone you can feel for, jackpot."
If Venom 2 indeed carries the same PG-13 rating as its predecessor, this opens the door to
another question, especially in light of the recent breakup and reconciliation between
Sony Pictures and Marvel Studios:
“Where's your pal, Spider-Man?
Let me guess, in Canada with your imaginary girlfriend?"
There has been endless speculation about whether Hardy's Venom and Tom Holland's Spider-Man,
who has appeared in three Marvel Studios films and two Sony-produced, MCU-set solo vehicles,
will ever meet onscreen.
Both actors seem quite psyched about the prospect, and a number of involved parties have teased
that it's not only possible, but inevitable.
Before the Sony/Disney kerfuffle, no less an authority than Marvel Studios head honcho
Kevin Feige said that a crossover, quote, "seems likely at some point," while making
it clear that in his mind, that ball was firmly in Sony's court.
After the release of the mega-hit Spider-Man: Far From Home, director Jon Watts told ComicBookMovie.com
that, creatively speaking, he saw no reason why the comic book nemeses couldn't meet up
on the big screen at some point.
He said:
"I found Venom to be so funny and I thought Tom Hardy was so great, I don't know that
[the two universes] are so different.
I think you put those two Toms together and you're going to see something pretty special."
While the two stars have in the past expressed a general interest in working together, neither
have had anything to say about whether a Spidey/Venom collision is officially in the works.
For Hardy's part, though, he couldn't help but throw a bit of gasoline on that flame
with a photo of himself dressed, well, rather provocatively, which he posted to and then
deleted from his Instagram account last month.
Either Hardy knows something we don't, or he simply enjoys screwing with fans from time
to time.
For the time being, we're going to have to go with the latter; Holland's Spider-Man has
been confirmed to be appear in one more Sony-produced solo flick and an additional Marvel Studios
film at this time, and it's been reported that Venom 2 begins shooting this month with
director Andy Serkis at the helm.
Whether Spidey makes an appearance or not, though, we're pumped to see Hardy's anti-hero
face off with one of the deadliest foes in Marvel comics.
Sony has not yet announced a release date for Venom 2, but the flick is expected to
drop in fall 2020, so we'll keep our ears to the ground for details, and keep you informed.
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