Venom 2 Producer Breaks Silence on Andy Serkis Joining the Sequel

Venom defied expectations when it slithered to the top of the box office last fall, with a sequel [...]

Venom defied expectations when it slithered to the top of the box office last fall, with a sequel being officially brought into development months later. The film, which reportedly began filming earlier this week, is set to be a unique mix of new and returning elements, starting with Andy Serkis serving as the film's director. While Serkis is known for his prolific acting and motion capture roles, he has recently dived into directing with films like Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle. It's clear that Serkis brings a unique quality to the world of Venom 2, and it sounds like one of the film's producers is excited by that. In an interview with ComicBook.com's Brandon Davis, producer Matt Tolmach teased Serkis' approach to the project, and to working alongside franchise star Tom Hardy.

"He's a great director, but also he's an actor and he's played inside monsters and he sort of understands character from inside." Tolmach explained. "It's been wild to watch him with Hardy, because they speak that language that only actors understand - particularly, people like Tom Hardy, and what it's like to be in this other character from another realm. He's like a mystical figure, Andy Serkis, and when he's around people you feel his presence. He was having Tom do really well, and so we got to know him, actually, through Tom. He's going to be special. It's a really great connection."

The sequel will also see the return of Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, with Woody Harrelson reprising his post-credits role as Cletus Kasady. While details around the film are slim, it's clear that the film will feature some sort of rivalry between Venom and Carnage.

"I obviously have a close relationship with Woody," Venom director Ruben Fleischer explained to ComicBook.com last year. "And he's one of my favorite actors, if not my favorite actor, and he's just also an incredible human being. So, when we were thinking about including that scene and laying the groundwork for a potential sequel, he was the first person I thought of and a just because selfishly I'm really excited to work with him again, whether it's in Zombieland 2 or the potential sequel to this film. But if you think about Natural Born Killers and Mickey, the character he played in that film, I feel like there's a real lineage that you can trace from Mickey to Cletus and I also think that he hasn't gone dark in that way for a while."

"You know what? When you hear Venom…forget Venom. 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 here." producer Avi Arad explained last year. "He's a tortured soul. It's not about what he does, because we never have to show the knife going from here to there, and the blood is pouring. What you have to show is, what is the motivation? Was he born like that, or it's someone we should feel for, because if you are succeeding to make a villain someone you can feel for, jackpot."

Are you excited to see Andy Serkis direct Venom 2? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

Venom 2 is expected to be released on October 2, 2020.

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