Tom Holland’s cryptic Instagram post renews hope of a ‘Venom 3’ cameo

Tom Holland’s cryptic Instagram post has renewed hope that his Spider-Man will appear in a cameo in Venom: The Last Dance.

The Marvel Cinematic Universe and Sony’s Spider-Man Universe have been teasing a Venom/Spider-Man crossover for years. In Venom: Let There Be Carnage‘s post-credits scene, Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) is transported to the MCU, where he and Venom see Holland’s Spider-Man on TV. Many took it as a hint that Venom would be in Spider-Man: No Way Home, and he was, but not in the way viewers had hoped. He never comes face-to-face with Spider-Man, but in the post-credit scene, we see he just spent his time at a bar before being pushed back to his universe, although he does leave behind a small piece of Venom’s DNA. Both movies seemed to be using each other to hype up audiences without delivering an actual crossover.

Since Spider-Man 4 isn’t officially confirmed, and Hardy’s Venom isn’t currently slated for any projects beyond Venom: The Last Dance, the third Venom movie may be the last chance for a while to have Venom and Spider-Man properly meet. Although there was scarce evidence to suggest an appearance from Holland, a recent Instagram post may have changed that.

What is Tom Holland’s “secret shoot?”

Recently, Holland took to Instagram to tease a new project. In the caption, he wrote, “Secret shoot day.” He paired the caption with a mirror selfie of him wearing under-eye patches. However, he included no other hints or clues as to what the secret shoot was for.

Naturally, the comments were filled with users hoping this was his way of teasing Spider-Man 4. While MCU execs have confirmed they’re interested in making another Spider-Man movie with Holland and are tossing around ideas, there has been no official announcement that the movie is in development. It seems unlikely that a film not slated for any of the MCU’s upcoming Phases with no director, release date, or title is already secretly in the filming stages. While other MCU projects are in production or post-production, such as The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Daredevil: Born Again, it’s highly unlikely Disney would allow him to tease and potentially spoil such a huge cameo. The secretiveness also makes it hard to imagine it’s not a superhero or established franchise project.

The project that makes the most sense for Holland’s secret shoot is Venom: The Last Dance. Just last month, the movie was filming reshoots as it prepares for its release later this year. Additionally, the series has never been opposed to teasing Holland’s appearance to garner interest. Lastly, Spider-Man is one of Venom’s most iconic rivals, and viewers have been waiting for this crossover for years. While it’s possible the secret shoot could be for the SSU’s other 2024 release, Kraven the Hunter, it would make more sense for Sony to tap Holland for Venom: The Last Dance since he has somewhat of a foundation already in the series.

In addition, leaked set photos showed that Hardy was filming Venom: The Last Dance reshoots in New York City, which is home to Peter Parker. While there’s no official confirmation that Holland’s Spider-Man will appear in the movie, his cryptic tease and the NYC reshoots are the closest thing we’ve had to substantial evidence of his potential appearance.