Is The Venom Movie Franchise Really Over?

With the theatrical debut of Venom: The Last Dance this weekend, Sony’s Tom Hardy-starring Marvel franchise has officially reached the trilogy threshold. This new movie is the third in the series and, as the film’s title indicates, this has felt like it could be the end for Eddie Brock and his Symbiote pal. Now that the movie is out in the wild, and fans have had a chance to see what happens in The Last Dance, does it still feel like the end? Does Sony’s latest tie a nice bow around everything or use it as a launching pad for more movies?

Well, things aren’t quite that simple, as Venom: The Last Dance tries to do a little bit of both. WARNING: This article contains MAJOR SPOILERS for Venom: The Last Dance! Continue reading at your own risk…

There are two ways to look at the ending of Venom: The Last Dance: you’ve got the story of Eddie and Venom, and then you’ve got the bigger story of Symbiotes in Sony’s Marvel universe.

Based on how successful the Venom films have been, and the fact that Sony wants to hang on to the rights of their Marvel characters, there are probably going to be more Venom movies. Venom: The Last Dance clearly sets the stage for a future with this franchise, that future just doesn’t seem like it will include Tom Hardy.

At the end of The Last Dance, Venom separates from Eddie in order to sacrifice themselves and save Earth from the hounds of Knull. Without Venom still in his head, Eddie finally makes his way back to New York City. His name has been cleared and he gets a chance to start over as a regular guy, but it’s clear he misses his symbiotic pal.

Outside of some crazy circumstance that brings him back in a future movie, this version of Eddie is done being the Lethal Protector. The other Symbiotes, however, are just getting started.

The Last Dance introduces the villain known as Knull, the creator of the Symbiotes. Knull has been looking for ways to get out of the prison the Symbiotes put him in, and the post-credits scene makes it seem as though he will be doing just that. So off the bat you’ve got a massive character in Knull, who The Last Dance writer/director Kelly Marcel has already said is planned to be more than just a one-movie villain.

In addition to Knull, there are a couple of other Symbiote-related situations at the end of The Last Dance that could lead to more movies. While nearly every Symbiote being held at Area 51 is killed in the film’s final fight, one of them gets away. Agony takes up residence in the body of scientist Dr. Payne, and there’s no indication that the Symbiote leaves their new host when they escape Area 51. So there’s a well-known Symbiote still out and about in that world.

Then there’s the final post-credits scene. As the bartender from the beginning of the movie emerges from an underground cave and escapes the rubble of Area 51, we see one of the vials that the Symbiotes were kept in. There’s still a trace of one of the Symbiotes left behind in that vial and it begins to react as a cockroach approaches the shattered container.

It isn’t explicitly clear which Symbiote was in the container, but the inclusion of the bartender in the scene seems to indicate that it was actually a piece of the Symbiote we know as Venom. A trace of that Symbiote was left behind at the bar at the beginning of the film, only to be taken to Area 51 to be studied.

It’s all very wide-open at this point when it comes to Sony’s Marvel future. Tom Hardy doesn’t seem interested in starring in another Venom feature, but there are plenty of other ways for the studio to keep the franchise moving forward.