‘Venom: The Last Dance’ will tackle one of Marvel’s newest and most powerful villains
The final trailer for Venom: The Last Dance has arrived and offered the first glimpse of the movie’s villain, Knull, creator of the symbiotes.
The trailer confirmed a long-held suspicion that the final installment in Sony’s Venom series would introduce Knull. Although many hoped for Knull’s introduction, some didn’t believe it was possible. After all, the villain is a relatively new character, having only made his first physical appearance in Marvel Comics in 2018.
Meanwhile, Venom: The Last Dance entered development in 2022, giving Knull only four years of comic book history before being worked into a major blockbuster movie. Still, suspicion of Knull grew when Sony remained unusually tight-lipped about the plot of the movie.
Venom: The Last Dance’s first trailer failed to unveil the movie’s villain, although it featured a mystery creature that viewers speculated could be Xenophage or The Brood. Venom (Tom Hardy) did tease that his “home” had found them. Now, we finally know what Venom meant by that ominous phrase.
Who is Knull?
In the final Venom: The Last Dance trailer, at the 0:54 mark, Venom confirms that the being that sent the monster after them is “his creator.” By 1:08, viewers get their first glimpse of Knull in live-action, although his hair is obscuring his face. Meanwhile, it appears he’s so terrifying that the symbiotes came to Earth because they were running from him.
Although Sony has confirmed Knull’s appearance, it has not confirmed who will portray the villain. However, Rhys Ifans has been cast in an undisclosed role in Venom: The Last Dance and some Redditors believe Knull’s profile looks similar to Ifans’, but Ifans is seen at a different point in the trailer as a hippie playing a guitar. Either Sony is going to have Knull disguise himself as a human hippie, or the studio could be hiding a big name for the role.
It will be interesting to see how Venom: The Last Dance approaches Knull since he doesn’t have a very extensive comic book history. In Marvel Comics, Knull existed before the Marvel Universe as a deity within the Void. However, the Celestials interrupted his peace when they began creating the universe, bringing light to the darkness he once lived in.
Angered by the Celestials bringing light to the realm, he created All-Black the Necrosword and slayed a Celestial. He was then banished further into the void, where he created the symbiotes to continue his quest to fight the light.
Knull thought the symbiotes were the key to his power as he could control the creatures over long distances and create a powerful hive mind to terrorize the universe. However, his connection with the symbiotes was severed during a battle, and they quickly rebelled against their creator. They imprisoned him on the planet Klyntar and went on to find new hosts and enjoy their freedom from Knull. Unfortunately, he continued exerting his power as a Knull-worshipping cult formed with a desire to free the deity.
Eventually, his followers resurrected Carnage and began collecting codices from individuals infected by symbiotes. Combined, the codices eventually gave them the power to free Knull. However, Earth wasn’t doomed, as Venom bonded with the Enigma Force (the god of light) and quickly defeated Knull.
As a result, Venom and Brock took on Knull’s previous title of the King in Black. The King in Black was the position the Celestials first offered Knull, although he rejected his duties and turned against the Celestials instead. So, Brock/Venom essentially evolved into a god.
It remains to be seen how much Venom: The Last Dance will pull from the comics. The movie will have a lot of ground to cover if it wants to work its way from Knull’s introduction to his defeat. Additionally, it seems likely that the SSU would want to hold onto Brock/Venom instead of having him become a god outside time and space. At the same time, adapting Knull’s full story would be an epic way to end the Venom trilogy.
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