Amy Pascal Confirms Tom Hardy To Return For Venom Sequel

Despite negative fan anticipation and large production and marketing budgets, Sony’s standalone Marvel project Venom was a major hit at the box office, leaving no doubt a sequel would happen, and after it was officially greenlit in January with Kelly Marcel set to return alongside Tom Hardy (Dunkirk), Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon) and Woody Harrelson (Zombieland: Double Tap), and now producer Amy Pascal has revealed that the 41-year-old English star is still set to return for the sequel.

In an interview with Fandango, Pascal confirmed that despite her new first-look deal at Universal Pictures, she will still remain 100% involved with Sony’s Marvel Universe, namely the upcoming Venom sequel and how the first film succeeded.

I can say that Tom Hardy will be back, magnificently playing that character as no one else can…Sony did a great job creating that franchise and giving it a life and giving it its own world. Then there’s Tom Hardy. When you think of Venom, you’ll never be able to think of anyone but Tom Hardy sitting in that bathtub of lobsters. And once you saw Tom Hardy do this character, that’s all you needed to know.

After initially expressing hesitation at crossing over the two franchises, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige recently commented the door is indeed open for the Marvel Cinematic universe to cross over with Sony’s and that the ball is now in the studio’s court, to which Pascal teased they may run with.

Everybody would love to see that. You never know someday… it might happen. We have big plans for Tom Holland to be a part of everything, Every movie we ever do! He needs to be in every movie that I ever work on!

Venom amassed an enormous $855 million worldwide during its box office run despite negative reviews and a so-so response from fans (form your own opinion by picking the film up here). The Tom Hardy led vehicle teased a sequel by introducing Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage, played by Woody Harrelson, during its closing credits. The trade reports that Hardy will return for the sequel along with co-star Michelle Williams. It’s unclear if director Ruben Fleischer will return.

First appearing in the comic book series as an alien costume worn by Spider-Man in Marvel‘s The Amazing Spider-Man #252 in 1984, it was several years before the creature left Peter Parker and merged with photographer Eddie Brock, forming the antihero known as Venom. Since then, the character has appeared in a variety of different forms and bonded with several different hosts. In the “Ultimate” Marvel Universe, the suit has a more terrestrial origin, created by Parker and Brock’s scientist parents in an attempt to cure cancer. More recently, the Venom symbiote has been moving between hosts, including Mac Gargan (aka The Scorpion) and Peter Parker’s old high school rival, Flash Thompson.

Sony currently has plans to give films to other Spidey characters, with Jackpot, Black Cat, Kraven the Hunter and Silver Sable all candidates to get their own movie. Morbius the Living Vampire has Jared Leto in the leading role and is currently being filmed in Atlanta, Georgia for a July 31, 2020 release date.

The Venom sequel is currently slated for an October 2, 2020 release date

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