Venom: Let There Be Carnage is a 2021 American superhero film featuring the Marvel Comics character Venom. Distributed by Columbia Pictures in association with Marvel, 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, Eddie and the alien symbiote Venom must face serial killer Cletus Kasady (Harrelson) after he becomes the host of an offshoot of Venom named Carnage.
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| Directed by | Andy Serkis |
| Screenplay by | Kelly Marcel |
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| Based on | Marvel Comics |
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| Cinematography | Robert Richardson |
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| Music by | Marco Beltrami |
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| Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
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| Running time | 97 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $110 million |
| Box office | $506.9 million |
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 Cletus 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. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the action sequences, chemistry between Eddie and Venom, the 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 scheduled for release on July 12, 2024.
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, Frances uses her sonic scream powers to attack young police officer Patrick Mulligan. Mulligan shoots Frances in the eye and suffers an injury to his ear due to her scream. Unbeknownst to Mulligan, who believes he killed her, Frances 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 Cletus in San Quentin State Prison, as Cletus refuses to talk to anyone other than Eddie. After the visit, Eddie's alien symbiote Venomdeduces where Cletus has hidden the bodies of his victims, which gives Eddie a considerable career boost. Eddie is contacted by his ex-fiancée Anne Weying, who tells him that she is now engaged to Dr. Dan Lewis, to Venom's displeasure. Cletus, who has been found guilty of his crimes and sentenced to death by lethal injection, invites Eddie to attend his execution. Eddie speaks with Cletus, who insults Eddie, provoking Venom to attack Cletus. Cletus bites Eddie's hand and ingests a small part of the symbiote. Back home, Venom has an argument with Eddie about wanting more freedom to eat criminals, and the symbiote decides to leave Eddie's body and go off on its own.
As Cletus'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 Cletus break Frances out of Ravencroft in exchange for Cletus's help eliminating Eddie and Venom. Mulligan visits Eddie at home and warns him about the situation. At Ravencroft, Cletus frees Frances, and they travel to the St. Estes children's home to burn it down. Mulligan grows suspicious of Eddie and arrests him. Eddie contacts Anne 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, Anne finds him bonded to Mrs. Chen and convinces him to forgive Eddie. Venom reunites with Eddie, and they escape custody. Cletus takes Mulligan hostage, and Frances captures Anne, taking them both to a cathedral where Cletus and Frances plan to get married.
Eddie and Venom arrive to fight Carnage while Frances seemingly kills Mulligan by hanging him with a chain. Venom is overpowered by Carnage but provokes Frances into using her powers to separate Carnage and Cletus. Venom devours Carnage and kills Cletus while the collapsing cathedral crushes Frances. Later, an alive Mulligan's eyes flash blue, revealing that he somehow absorbed a part of Carnage. Eddie and Venom, now fugitives, decide to take a vacation while they ponder their next steps. In a mid-credit scene, as Venom tells Eddie 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 Serkisdescribed Eddie and Venom's relationship as being in the "Odd Couple stage" in the film, with Venom trapped in Eddie's body and just wanting to be the "Lethal Protector" which distracts Eddie from work and putting his life back together.
- Michelle Williams as Anne Weying: A defense attorney and Eddie's ex-fiancée, who briefly hosts Venom.
- Naomie Harris as Frances Barrison / Shriek: Cletus' 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 Frances.
- Reid Scott as Dan Lewis: A doctor and Anne's fiancé.
- Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan: A detective hoping to use Eddie to find the remains of Cletus' 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, Cletus refuses to talk with anyone besides Eddie, who he considers to be a kindred spirit. Cletus 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 Cletus.
Additionally, Peggy Lu reprises her role from the first film as convenience store owner Mrs. Chen, who briefly hosts Venom, Sian Webberportrays 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 Jamesonfrom the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) appears in the mid-credits scene, with both actors uncredited.