Let There Be Carnage: Tom Hardy Hails “Formidable” Woody Harrelson as Venom Villain

On Monday, Sony bumped the release date for the eagerly anticipated Venom: Let There Be Carnage by two weeks to October 1st and they also gave fans a little bit more to be excited about when it comes to the Venom sequel. The studio also released production notes on its website offering tantalizing new details about the upcoming film, including Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady/Carnage. Not only did producer Matt Tolmach explain that all roads lead to Carnage, but Eddie Brock/Venom actor Tom Hardy had high praise for Harrelson in the role.

“Every Venom story has to lead to Carnage,” Tolmach said. “In a world inhabited by a genuinely scary symbiote, there’s another symbiote who is a whole lot meaner, and a whole lot more dangerous, and a whole lot more deadly. He’s the ultimate challenge for Venom and therefore Eddie. Woody was the right person because he’s not only one of the great actors alive, but he’s got a delicious wickedness that is uniquely terrifying.”

Hardy in particular offered up praise for Harrelson as a performer, calling the actor one of the coolest people he’s met, but also noted that he’s a formidable actor, something that the actor brings with him to the Carnage role.

“Woody is one of the coolest people I have ever met,” Hardy said. “As a human being and as an actor, he is just formidable. There is nothing that you can present him with that will shock him; he has an answer, a solution to everything and he has a story to tell. As an artist, he is just wonderful, with such a brilliant, talented playful creative mind, that it’s an absolute joy to work with him.”

Harrelson’s skill and talent is something that Venom: Let There Be Carnage director Andy Serkis also praised. Serkis, who previously worked with Harrelson when they both starred in War of the Planet of the Apes, said he was blown away by Harrelson’s choices.

“I would just sit back and get blown away by his choices,” Serkis said. “When I would direct him, he would take that on and twist it and play with it. We had such a lot of fun.”

You can check out the official description for Venom: Let There Be Carnage below.

“Tom Hardy returns to the big screen as the lethal protector Venom, one of MARVEL’s greatest and most complex characters. Directed by Andy Serkis, the film also stars Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris and Woody Harrelson, in the role of the villain Cletus Kasady/Carnage.”

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is now hitting theaters on October 1st.