Venom 2 Cinematographer Confirms Woody Harrelson’s Return in Sequel

Venom 2’s cinematographer Robert Richardson has seemingly confirmed Woody Harrelson’s return in the anticipated sequel — which means we will finally get a live-action Carnage.

Richardson was busy discussing what drew him to the superhero genre in an interview with Collider when he made the unofficial announcement. He was discussing how director Andy Serkis approached him about the film, which he believed presented a lot of interesting possibilities.

“I think it’s unexplored yet, and it’s going to explode, and this film, I think, will help it explode, because you have a remarkable central character with Venom, but now you’ve got Woody Harrelson, who’s going to obviously make his own little entrance here, and we’ll see what else comes in with the Sony Marvel collaboration,” Richardson said before offering praise to Tom Hardy, the film’s star: “I look forward to it. It’s a massive change for me, but I’m excited. I think Hardy is one of our best. He never misses. I so look forward to sitting with him and watching him perform.”

Harrelson appeared as Cletus Kasady during a post-credit scene in the first film. In the comics Kasady eventually becomes Carnage, Venom’s arch-nemesis. This might also provide a good opportunity for Tom Holland’s Spider-Man to pair up with Hardy’s Venom in order to take the big red baddie down. It remains to be seen if that will come to pass.

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Serkis is known for his amazing motion-capture work in films such as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Planet of the Apes series, and Star Wars: The Last Jedi. He has also appeared in Black Panther, King Kong, and Avengers: Age of Ultron. Venom 2 will mark the third feature film Serkis will tackle as director following Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle, which released on Netflix last year.

Richardson previously worked with Serkis on his directorial debut Breathe, and is also well-known for his Oscar-winning work on Martin Scorcese’s fantasy adventure Hugo and biopic The Aviator, as well as earning other nominations for Oliver Stone’s Platoon, Born on the Fourth of July, winning his first with JFK, and being nominated for Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight.

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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 first film teased a sequel by introducing Cletus Kasady, aka Carnage, played by Woody Harrelson, during its closing credits.

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