Venom 2: Co-Creator Todd McFarlane Currently Not Involved In Sequel

Fans of Marvel's Venom have been clamoring for the character on the big screen since he first appeared in the pages of comics in the 1990s. The first official Venom solo movie debuted two years ago to tremendous success for Sony Pictures, and the studio found a new way to tap into their Spider-Man film rights without needing Marvel Studios' help. The sequel is on its way too, now set for a summer 2021 release date, but one voice fans are hoping is involved in the movie won't be in the room, co-creator Todd McFarlane. Speaking with ComicBook.com, McFarlane confirmed that he's not involved with the second film, nor was he involved in the first, but there are no hard feelings.

"No, McFarlane said when asked if he'd been approached about the movie. "Like I've said to people before, I didn't even get approached on any level for the first one, and that's okay! I don't own that property and somebody's spending $100 million on it, and sp they can do whatever they want with it. If doing that means they say 'Hey, maybe we should go to talk to the guy who visually created it,' that's their prerogative, and if they say that don't want to do that that's also their prerogative."

He adds, "I spend money every day of my life, investing my own money, and when I do that I expect to have the loudest voice at that point because it's my neck on the line. As a businessman I get why all this happens, and they get to do whatever they see fit. Sometimes you get to have a little bit of fun with it, cool, and if you can't then you just move on and do your own thing. It's why I've got my own companies."

McFarlane is pretty busy on his own working in Hollywood as the prolific comic creator is getting a gritty reboot of his own creator owned comic Spawn off the ground. The film will mark McFarlane's directorial debut as a filmmaker with Oscar winner Jamie Foxx set to take on the titular role and Jeremy Renner attached to star as Detective Twitch. That in mind, he might not have had time to be involved if the Venom filmmakers wanted his input.

Tom Hardy will return as Eddie Brock/Venom for the upcoming sequel, officially titled Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Woody Harrelson will appear as Cletus Kassidy/Carnage for the film which has none other than Andy Serkis behind the camera as director. Originally set to arrive this October, Venom: Let There Be Carnage will arrive on June 25th, 2021.