Venom 3 will be ‘just the beginning’ for its biggest symbiote villain

Venom: The Last Dance may end up being the final adventure for Tom Hardy’s Eddie Brock and his symbiote second half. However, that doesn’t mean the forthcoming film won’t set up other, future adventures set within its comic book universe.

The Venom: Let There Be Carnage sequel promises to bring a number of recognizable comic book figures to life onscreen, including Toxin (Stephen Graham). As some viewers noticed in the final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance, the film will also introduce Knull. The villain, who made his official comic book debut in 2018, is the creator of the symbiotes. He is briefly shown sitting on a black throne surrounded by symbiote monsters in Venom: The Last Dance‘s latest trailer.

Very little is known about Knull’s role in the film right now. It hasn’t even been revealed yet who plays the character. That said, Venom: The Last Dance writer-director Kelly Marcel has revealed that the King in Black’s big-screen presence will extend beyond the new movie. In an interview with IGN, Marcel teased, “This is just the beginning for Knull.”

“We know full well how important Knull is to the fans, so just as we laid a foundation for Venom, we hope we are doing the same for Knull. The King in Black is way too powerful for ‘one and done,'” Marcel added. “This film introduces Knull, but it just touches the beginnings of his story.”

The future of the Venom franchise

In the same interview, Marcel said that she and Hardy always envisioned his Eddie Brock’s story as a three-part saga. Hardy has also confirmed on social media that Venom: The Last Dance will be his final outing as the character. That, therefore, adds an extra layer of mystery to Knull’s future after Venom: The Last Dance. The only other confirmed Spider-Man-adjacent film that Sony has in the pipeline right now is the long-delayed Kraven the Hunter.

The studio has not, in other words, officially announced any other symbiote-centric projects that Knull could logically appear in. Sony may simply be waiting to see how well Venom: The Last Dance does before announcing its future plans. Assuming Hardy really is done with the franchise, it’s also possible the studio is waiting to find another actor of his caliber to anchor its future Venom projects.

Either way, Marcel herself seems confident that there are still plenty of ways Knull can return after his upcoming live-action debut. “As the fans know there are many, many more symbiote stories — the universe is wide and rich, and one movie could never do justice to Knull,” the writer-director told IGN. “Beyond this trilogy, there are more stories to explore.”

For what it’s worth, Knull is a villain with links to numerous other comic book characters in addition to Venom. Thanks to his symbiote connection alone, he’s the sort of villain who could easily be placed at the center of multiple heroes’ journeys. It remains to be seen, however, exactly what “stories” Marcel has in mind for the character, as well as whether or not any of them ever come to fruition.

Venom: The Last Dance hits theaters Friday, October 25.