Summary
Venom: The Last Danceis finally nearing its theatrical release, and the upcoming movie is marking the last leg of its pre-release promotional tour by giving fans confirmation that one major villain that was previously thought to be off the table will be there in full force.
Venom: The Last Danceis the final installment in theVenomfranchise, the only successful Spider-Man spinoff that Sony has been able to get off the ground beyond their successful collaboration with Marvel Studios on the Tom Holland-ledSpider-Man: Home.With the resounding failures ofMorbiusandMadame Web,the success of the Venom franchise has become even more critical for the studio, and a third and final film in the now-confirmed trilogy would gain a lot more pressure to succeed. However, because the sequel filmVenom: Let There Be Carnageutilized the titular villain in a less than fully-realized PG-13 outing, there was a strong general consensus thatVenom: The Last Dancehas nothing left to offerSpider-Manfans.
Despite the bleak outlook, the leadup to the release ofVenom: The Last Dancewhile it was initially rumored thatSony might be saving a big Venom villain for a crossover eventand leaving them out of the final film in the trilogy, that theory has finally gone up in smoke with the release of the latest trailer for the film.Sonyreleased this final promotional trailer for the upcoming threequel to its official YouTube channel, and fans finally got confirmation of a major inclusion to the film’s worldbuilding with a strong link to the MCU. In the trailer, the Venom symbiote reveals to Eddie that they’ve been found by its creator before confirming that it is indeed Knull, God of the Symbiotes. This revelation is a major one, as Knull is an interdimensional threat that could easily back up the implied threat to the entire world that the trailer seems to present the audience with.
In addition to filling the big shoes of a final trilogy villain, Knull also gives the film a strong connection to the mainline MCU filmThor: Love and Thunder,which saw the inclusion of Gorr the God Butcher, a villain wielding the Necrosword. The god-slaying weapon is central to Gorr’s plot and, in the comics, was created by Knull in addition to the symbiotes. Additionally, newset photos from reshoots seem to imply a potential Spider-Man connectionwith theVenomfranchise, with a rumored appearance by Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man being discussed.
Knull is certainly not a bad choice to end the trilogy on, as the villain is sufficiently powerful and intricately linked to the protagonists via the creation of the symbiotes. The film will have a lot of work to do in terms of actually setting up his motivation for coming after Venom and Eddie, but that’s going to be the easy part. The rumors gave a lot of fans hope that there would be a more substantial crossover between Venom and a Spider-Man project, but it’s clear now that Sony intends to pull out all the stops for the threequel. WhileThe Last Dancemight be Sony’s last safe bet, the company seems to be doing a lot to ensure that Kraven the Hunter can continue that success, includingrevealing the film’s encouraging R-rating.
PriorVenomentries ranked high on the list ofPG movies that needed to be Rated-R, andVenom: The Last Dancemight just earn the top spot. While there’s a chance that Sony and Marvel Studios have some sort of long-term plans for Knull possibly crossing over, the decision to introduce a character like Knull with such a limitation on the project could potentially mitigate a lot of that appeal. However,Venomis still Sony’s best franchise, and fans will simply have to keep fingers crossed thatThe Last Dancebrings things to a satisfying climax.
Venom: The Last Danceis currently set for theatrical release on Jul 19, 2025.
