Sony hasn’t been shy about promoting Venom: The Last Dance as Tom Hardy’s final film as Eddie Brock/Venom. But that doesn’t mean Sony will be finished with Venom, or his ultimate adversary, Knull, the God of Symbiotes.
Kelly Marcel–the screenwriter of the first two Venom films and the director and writer of The Last Dance–recently told IGN that Hardy’s departure was planned from the beginning. And that won’t interfere with Sony’s plans to introduce Rhys Ifans’ Knull across several movies.
“From the beginning, Tom and I always envisioned that this particular Eddie/Venom story would be told in three parts and the story arc would climax with the third film for reasons the movie will reveal,” said Marcel. “As the fans know there are many, many more symbiote stories–the universe is wide and rich, and one movie could never do justice to Knull. Beyond this trilogy, there are more stories to explore–God is coming.”
As established by writer Donny Cates and artist Ryan Stegman, Knull is also known as the King in Black and the creator of the symbiotes. He is a cosmic-level threat that took down several of Marvel’s heaviest hitters before he was defeated. Marcel didn’t elaborate on her future plans for Kull, but she did address why Ifans was cast after he already played Curt Connors/The Lizard in The Amazing Spider-Man and Spider-Man: No Way Home.
“It’s not uncommon for actors to be cast as different Marvel characters across various films and this is no different,” said Marcel. “The best actors for the roles were cast and Rhys is no exception, he plays a new and different character in a really fun and important role and I am so excited for people’s reaction to his wonderful performance.”
Marcel also shared some minor spoilers about Knull’s role in the movie.
“We know full well how important Knull is to the fans, so just as we laid a foundation for Venom, we hope we are doing the same for Knull,” explained Marcel. “The King in Black is way too powerful for ‘one and done.’ This film introduces Knull, but it just touches the beginnings of his story. Marvel’s greatest film villains are developed over time. Here, Knull is the threat lurking behind the danger that tests the absolute limits of Eddie and Venom’s partnership–but it’s their relationship that remains the heart of this story.”
Venom: The Last Dance will hit theaters on October 25.
