Spider-Man Star Tom Holland Rumored To Be In Early Talks For Venom 2

Tom Holland is reportedly in talks to appear as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the forthcoming sequel to Venom, according to writer Daniel Richtman, whose Marvel rumors have a pretty good track record. The report -- which he classified as "bad news," on the grounds that he did not enjoy the previous Venom film, first appeared on a backers-only page of Richtman's Patreon page. If true, this would be the culmination of rumors that have been ongoing since Venom itself was in development; since the character originated as a Spider-Man villain before going on to become an antihero in his own right, fans had hoped to see Spidey appear in the first Venom film. When he did not, reports began to emerge that he was being positioned for a potential role in the second Venom.

The film, which wil be directed by motion capture master Andy Serkis, will bring Tom Hardy back in the title role. Adding Spider-Man could help to establish Sony's Spider-Man "universe" of films, which currently includes the Venom and upcoming Morbius movies, as a real part of Spider-Man's universe.

The characters from the Spider-Man universe of films are unlikely to appear in Marvel Cinematic Universe movies, where Holland has made his home since first appearing as Spider-Man in Captain America: Civil War. Earlier this year, there was a brief scare where it appeared as though his time as the MCU's Spider-Man was up, but a deal was brokered to continue it on for a little while longer.

It seems likely that any role Spider-Man might play in the Venom sequel would be not much more than a cameo, since the film is less than a year away from release and Holland's Spider-Man is a VFX-heavy character.

Spider-Man's movie rights remain with Sony as a result of a rights deal brokered back when Marvel Comics was dealing with crippling financial issues, and licensed properties like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men away to movie studios for capital. Almost all of the other properties are back with Marvel by now (including the X-Men and Fantastic Four, who returned as a result of Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox), but Spidey remains at large.

Venom 2 will be released on October 2, 2020. Holland will next appear in My Spy, hitting theaters in March. As far as Marvel's upcoming slate, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow will finally get her own solo movie, due out May 1, 2020. Other upcoming Marvel Studios projects include The Falcon and The Winter Soldier in Fall of 2020, The Eternals on November 6, 2020, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings on February 12, 2021, WandaVision in Spring 2021, Loki in Spring 2021, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness on May 7, 2021, What If…? In Summer 2021, Hawkeye in Fall 2021, and Thor: Love and Thunder on November 5, 2021.