Venom 2 Starts Production Today

After Venom became the surprise box office hit of 2018, it didn't take Sony very long to order a sequel to the zany Tom Hardy vehicle. With a theatrical release set for October 2020, two years after the release of the first film, it's about time for Hardy and the rest of the cast and crew to begin production on the sequel. Sony has yet to officially announce a filming date but Hardy took to Instagram on Friday morning and revealed that production on Venom 2 was finally underway. However, the studio must want things to stay a secret for a little longer, as his post was quickly deleted.

Along with a photo from what appears to be the makeup chair, Hardy shared the caption "W#'R'V3N0M2 day one." This would hint at the start of production, and the timing of the post certainly lines up with the film's release schedule.

The post was deleted from Hardy's Instagram, but a user on Reddit was able to capture a screenshot first and shared it online. You can check it out below.

Venom 2 has started filming from r/MarvelStudiosSpoilers

This time around, Ruben Fleischer won't be sitting in the director's chair. Instead, actor/filmmaker Andy Serkis is taking charge of the project, hoping to bring his own vision to the budding franchise.

"I'm right in the beginning stages, so I've got some very clear ideas about the journey, [and what] I'd like to see visually, and how we can take the characters into another direction," Serkis said at an event earlier in the year. "I'm excited to work with all the great actors who are involved. It's a fantastic franchise. I'm really honored to have been asked to direct it. And it feels like it's a very, again, a very contemporary story. And it's, I think, going to hopefully be a story piece of cinema."

In addition to directing Venom 2, Serkis has another major comic book movie role on the way in the near future. He was recently case as iconic butler Alfred Pennyworth in The Batman, which stars Robert Pattinson as Bruce Wayne. The film is directed by Matt Reeves, who previously worked with Serkis on the Planet of the Apes movies.

Are you looking forward to Venom 2? What do you think Andy Serkis brings to the table? Let us know in the comments!

Venom 2 is set to hit theaters on October 2, 2020.