Venom 2

''Venom: Let There Be Carnage'' is a 2021 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Venom, produced by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel. Distributed by Sony Pictures Releasing, it is the second film in Sony's Spider-Man Universe and the sequel to ''Venom'' (2018). The film was directed by Andy Serkis from a screenplay by Kelly Marcel, based on a story she wrote with Tom Hardy, who stars as Eddie Brock and Venom alongside Michelle Williams, Naomie Harris, Reid Scott, Stephen Graham, and Woody Harrelson. In the film, Brock and the alien symbiote Venom must face serial killer Cletus Kasady (Harrelson) after he becomes the host of an offshoot of Venom named Carnage.

''Venom'' was intended by Sony to be the start of a new shared universe, and plans for a sequel began during production on the first film. Harrelson was cast to make a brief appearance as Kasady at the end of ''Venom'', with the intention of him becoming the villain Carnage in the sequel. Official work on the sequel began in January 2019, with Hardy and Harrelson confirmed to return along with Marcel as writer. Serkis was hired as director that August, partly due to his experience working with CGI and motion capture technology, which was an important part of portraying Venom and Carnage in the film. Filming took place at Leavesden Studios in England from November 2019 to February 2020, with additional filming in San Francisco in February. The title was announced in April 2020.

''Venom: Let There Be Carnage'' premiered in London on September 14, 2021, and was theatrically released in the United States on October 1, after multiple delays from an initial October 2020 date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film was a box office success, grossing $506.9 million worldwide and becoming the seventh-highest-grossing film of 2021, but earning $349.2 million less than its predecessor. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, chemistry between Brock and Venom, mid-credit scene, and the performances of Hardy and Harrelson, but criticized its screenplay, while its short runtime drew divided opinions. A third ''Venom'' film is in development.

Plot

In 1996, a young Cletus Kasady watches helplessly as his lover, Frances Barrison, is taken away from St. Estes Home for Unwanted Children to the Ravencroft Institute. On the way, Barrison uses her sonic scream powers to attack young police officer Patrick Mulligan. Mulligan shoots Barrison in the eye and suffers an injury to his ear due to her scream. Unbeknownst to Mulligan, who believes he killed her, Barrison is still taken to Ravencroft, where her abilities are restricted.

In the present day, Mulligan is now a detective and asks journalist Eddie Brock to speak to serial killer Kasady in San Quentin State Prison, as Kasady refuses to talk to anyone other than Brock. After the visit, Brock's alien symbiote Venom deduces where Kasady has hidden the bodies of his victims, which gives Brock a considerable career boost. Brock is contacted by his ex-fiancée Anne Weying, who tells him that she is now engaged to Dr. Dan Lewis, to Venom's displeasure. Kasady, who has been found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to death by lethal injection, invites Brock to attend his execution. Brock speaks with Kasady, who insults Brock, provoking Venom to attack Kasady. Kasady bites Brock's hand and ingests a small part of the symbiote. Back home, Venom has an argument with Brock about wanting more freedom to eat criminals, and the symbiote decides to leave Brock's body and go off on its own.

As Kasady's execution begins, a red symbiote emerges and blocks the injection. Named Carnage, it goes on a violent rampage through the prison, freeing inmates and killing guards. Carnage agrees to help Kasady break Barrison out of Ravencroft in exchange for Kasady's help eliminating Brock and Venom. Mulligan visits Brock at home and warns him about the situation. At Ravencroft, Kasady frees Barrison, and they travel to the St. Estes children's home to burn it down. Mulligan grows suspicious of Brock and arrests him. Brock contacts Weying as his lawyer and reveals that Venom has separated from him. As Venom makes his way through San Francisco by hopping from body to body, Weying finds him bonded to Mrs. Chen and convinces him to forgive Brock. Venom reunites with Brock, and they escape custody. Kasady takes Mulligan hostage, and Barrison captures Weying, taking them both to a cathedral where Kasady and Barrison plan to get married.

Brock and Venom arrive to fight Carnage while Barrison seemingly kills Mulligan by hanging him with a chain. Venom is overpowered by Carnage but provokes Barrison into using her powers to separate Carnage and Kasady. Venom devours Carnage and kills Kasady while the collapsing cathedral crushes Barrison. Later, an alive Mulligan's eyes flash blue, revealing that he somehow absorbed a part of Carnage. Brock and Venom, now fugitives, decide to take a vacation while they ponder their next steps. In a mid-credit scene, as Venom tells Brock about the symbiotes' knowledge of other universes, a blinding light transports them from their hotel room to another room where they watch J. Jonah Jameson talking about Spider-Man's revealed identity as Peter Parker on television. Venom then licks the screen after saying, "That guy."

Cast

* Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom:
An investigative journalist who is the host of an alien symbiote, Venom, that imbues him with superhuman abilities. Director Andy Serkis described Brock and Venom's relationship as being in the "'' Odd Couple'' stage" in the film, with Venom trapped in Brock's body and just wanting to be the "Lethal Protector" which distracts Brock from work and putting his life back together.
* Michelle Williams as Anne Weying: A defense attorney and Brock's ex-fiancée, who briefly hosts Venom.
* Naomie Harris as Frances Barrison / Shriek:
Kasady's lover who can create sonic screams. Serkis described her as a damaged soul who has been living in isolation and has a dark side to her. Olumide Olorunfemi portrays a young Barrison.
* Reid Scott as Dan Lewis: A doctor and Weying's fiancé.
* Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan: A detective hoping to use Brock to find the remains of Kasady's murder victims. Sean Delaney portrays a young Mulligan.
* Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady / Carnage:
A psychotic serial killer who becomes the host of Venom's spawn, Carnage. While in prison, Kasady refuses to talk with anyone besides Brock, who he considers to be a kindred spirit. Kasady looks different compared to his appearance in the mid-credits scene of ''Venom'', which Serkis said indicates the passage of time between films; the character's hair was changed for the sequel so it would not be distracting to the audience, coupled with Harrelson's dislike for the earlier hairstyle and preference for a more realistic one. Harrelson was initially reluctant to provide the voice for Carnage and wanted Serkis to perform it instead, but Serkis encouraged him to find the right tone for the character. Jack Bandeira portrays a young Kasady.

Additionally, Peggy Lu reprises her role from the first film as convenience store owner Mrs. Chen, who briefly hosts Venom, Sian Webber portrays Ravencroft doctor Camille Pazzo, Larry Olubamiwo appears as a Ravencroft guard, and Little Simz appears as herself. Footage of Tom Holland as Peter Parker / Spider-Man and J. K. Simmons as J. Jonah Jameson from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) appears in the mid-credits scene, with both actors uncredited.

Production

Development

During the long development of the 2018 film ''Venom'', the character Carnage was expected to appear as an antagonist. During pre-production on that film, the creative team decided not to include the character so they could focus on introducing the protagonists, Eddie Brock and Venom. Director Ruben Fleischer felt that leaving Venom's most formidable villain for a sequel would give the franchise a place to go and would be a natural next step, so Carnage's alter-ego Cletus Kasady was introduced in a mid-credits scene at the end of the first film with the intention of featuring him in a sequel. Fleischer wanted to cast Woody Harrelson in the role, feeling there was a natural connection between the character and Harrelson's performance in ''Natural Born Killers'' (1994), and asked Harrelson while the pair were discussing a sequel to their film ''Zombieland'' (2009). After meeting with Fleischer and Tom Hardy—who portrays Brock and Venom—for dinner, Harrelson agreed to take on the part. Harrelson described his decision as a roll of the dice since he was unable to read a script for the sequel before signing on to the first film. In August 2018, ahead of ''Venom''s release, Hardy confirmed that he had signed on to star in two sequels. At the end of November 2018, Sony gave an October 2, 2020, release date to an untitled Marvel sequel that was believed to be ''Venom 2'', which would place the film in the same release timeframe as the first ''Venom''; box office analysts believed ''Venom'' had been successful enough to guarantee a sequel would be made.

''Venom'' writer Jeff Pinkner

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