Venom 2 cast, director, release date and more

Despite some, erm, not particularly glowing reviews, Spidey villain spin-off Venom pulled in a whopping $856 million at the worldwide box office, making it one of the biggest hits of 2018 – thanks in no small part to the sheer star power of Tom Hardy and his quirky take on journalist Eddie Brock, who combines with a gooey alien symbiote to become the snarling, baddie-eating antihero.

A sequel was a no-brainer and, with Hardy on board, a second was hastily greenlit. Original director Ruben Fleischer was out because of scheduling issues, though, paving the way for a new director to take the reins on the symbiote sequel.

The latest news – via Deadline – is that Naomie Harris (of Skyfall and 28 Days Later fame) is in talks to play Shriek, a new villain added to the Venom 2 rogues gallery. The character is the psychic-powered squeeze of main villain Carnage, and becomes his homicidal partner in crime.

The addition of Shriek seems to point to a storyline adapting the 1993 multi-Spider-Man-title-spanning storyline ‘Maximum Carnage’, in which the character, born Frances Barrison, meets Kasady/Carnage while both are imprisoned in Ravencroft Institute, eventually facilitating a jailbreak alongside Carrion, Demogoblin and Doppelganger, embarking on a chaotic spree across New York, magnified by Shriek’s mutant ability of manipulating peoples’ emotions to turn them violent. In the comics, the effort to quell said spree required the collective efforts of Spider-Man, Venom, Black Cat and the Avengers. This aspect will most likely play out differently in the film.

Here’s everything else we know about Venom 2 – we’ll be keeping this updated, so check back for all the latest news.

• Who’s in the cast for the Venom sequel?

• What the plot for Venom 2 entails

• Andy Serkis is on board as the film’s director

• When is Venom 2 hitting cinemas?

Venom 2: the Geek lowdown

Director: Andy Serkis

Stars: Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Woody Harrelson

The pitch: The antihero sequel will see Hardy’s Venom going up against violent killer and fellow symbiote, Carnage (Harrelson).

Release date: TBC

Venom 2 cast: familiar faces and new villains

Tom Hardy is, of course, back as the titular antihero – a combination of twitchy human journalist Eddie Brock and the gooey alien symbiote that chooses him as its host. Michelle Williams has also been confirmed to return as hotshot district attorney and Brock’s ex-fiancée, Anne Weying. “I’m in,” she told Yahoo. “I’m such a fan of Andy [Serkis], and I’m so inspired by what he’s been able to accomplish. He’s so gifted in such a specific way, and I’m very excited to learn from him and be around him.”

There’s a fair chance that Woody Harrelson will show up in a ridiculous wig to give life to Cletus Kasady – better known as the grotesque red symbiote, Carnage. The first film’s mid-credits scene gave us our first tease of Harrelson as Carnage, and Serkis has previous form with Harrelson: they starred opposite each other in War For The Planet Of The Apes. It also looks like Shriek – the proverbial Harley Quinn to Carnage’s Joker – will make an appearance, with Naomie Harris in the running for the role.

Venom 2 plot: Tom Hardy involved in the script

Hot on the heels of the news that performance capture king Andy Serkis will be directing Venom 2, the incoming filmmaker has been speaking about his “clear vision” for the symbiote sequel and the involvement of star Tom Hardy in the writing of the script.

Serkis spoke about the project at a press conference to promote his role in a new TV version of A Christmas Carol, as reported by Gamespot, the day after his announcement as director. “I’m right in the beginning stages,” Serkis confirmed, “so I’ve got some very clear ideas about the journey, [and what] I’d like to see visually, and how we can take the characters into another direction.”

Serkis also revealed that Tom Hardy, who’ll be back in the lead role of Eddie Brock/Venom, is getting “very involved” with the writing of the film’s script, alongside returning screenwriter and Hardy’s long-time pal, Kelly Marcel. “It’s very much centered around their take,” the director explained.

Venom 2 director: Fleischer’s out, Serkis is in

Brit actor Andy Serkis is stepping behind the camera to direct Venom 2. He has directed before, cutting his teeth as the second unit director on The Hobbit films before helming his own projects such as Andrew Garfield/Claire Foy drama Breathe and Mowgli: Legend Of The Jungle, Netflix’s own take on the Jungle Book tales.

But it’s Serkis’ experience doing motion-capture performances – for films such as the recent Planet Of The Apes trilogy, Peter Jackson’s King Kong, and his brilliant turn as Gollum in the Lord Of The Rings movies – that makes his appointment even more interesting. Maybe, just maybe, we’ll be getting more symbiote action in the sequel. If Sony intends to curate their own corner of the Spider-Man universe, upping the ante here would probably help their case.

Ruben Fleischer directed the first Venom movie, but says that he declined the sequel because he wanted a break after directing undead sequel Zombieland: Double Tap.