Venom 2 Director Says Characters Are Unaware Spider-Man Exists

Venom is back in the new trailer for Venom: Let There Be Carnage, the sequel that sees Woody Harrelson’s Cletus Kasady transform into Carnage. Director Andy Serkis broke down the trailer in a new video and touched on the film’s connection to the Spider-Man mythology. Serkis acknowledges the long-standing connections between Venom and Spider-Man from Marvel Comics lore but says that for this sequel, the creators chose to insulate Venom’s universe, making Eddie Brock and his supporting characters unaware of Spider-Man’s existence. However, Spider-Man Easter eggs will still be aplenty for eagle-eyed Marvel fans to spot while watching the movie.

“Obviously, there are links between Venom and Spider-Man in the Marvel Universe and the Spider-Man story, but in this, we’re treating this very much as it’s his own world, the Venom story is his own world,” Serkis says. “There are nods and little moments just like this, the newspaper Daily Bugle, of course, but on the whole, he’s unaware, they’re unaware, at this point of other characters like Spider-Man. So that’s the way we’ve chosen to play this particular episode of the movie but well we’ll wait and see what little things you can pick out of it.”

Fans have been wondering for months how Venom may relate to the wider Spider-Man franchise and Sony’s Marvel Universe. Sony is continuing to expand that universe with the upcoming Morbius movie starring Jared Leto next year. It also has films in development focused on the characters Kraven the Hunter, Nightwatch, the Sinister Six, and Madame Web and a television series about the character Silk. Given the multiverse-exploring nature of Spider-Man: No Way Home‘s rumored plot, some wonder if these characters could appear in the next Marvel Cinematic Univers Spider-Man film.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage sees Venom going up against his arch-nemesis from the Marvel Comics in Carnage, Venom’s symbiote spawn that bonds to the serial killer Cletus Kasady. The film also introduces Shriek and features Eddie’s estranged wife, Anne Weying, who became She-Venom in the first movie.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage is directed by Serkis from a screenplay written by Kelly Marcel, based on a story by Marcel and Tom Hardy. Hardy stars Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom with Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady / Carnage, Michelle Williams as Anne Weying, Reid Scott as Anne Weying’s boyfriend, Dan Lewis, and Naomie Harris as Shriek.

Venom: Let There Be Carnage opens in theaters on September 24th.