Venom The Last Dance
Venom The Last Dance is a 2024 American superhero film written and directed by Kelly Marcel, which features the Marvel Comics character Venom. The sequel to Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), it is the fifth film in Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) and the third and final film in the Venom trilogy. The film stars Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock and Venom, alongside Chiwetel Ejiofor, Juno Temple, Rhys Ifans, Stephen Graham, Peggy Lu, and Alanna Ubach in supporting roles. In the film, Eddie and Venom are on the run from both of their worlds.
Hardy revealed in August 2018 that he had signed on to star in a third Venom movie. After the second Venom movie came out in December 2021, Sony Pictures began working on the project. Marcel and Hardy were writing the script by June 2022, and Marcel was set to make her directorial debut with the film that October. New cast members, including Ejiofor and Temple, joined in mid-2023 and filming began at the end of June 2023 in Spain.
The 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike halted production the following month, but it resumed in November after the strike ended. The movie was finished by the end of February 2024, and a month later, its title was revealed. Venom: The Last Dance premiered at the Regal Times Square theater in New York City on October 21, 2024, and was released in the United States on October 25. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with praise for Hardy’s performance, action sequences, and visual effects and criticism directed at the script. Despite being the lowest-grossing film in the trilogy, it was still a box office success, grossing $478.9 million worldwide.
Plot
Eddie Brock and the Venom symbiote are intoxicated in a Mexican bar after being transported to Earth-616 by the spell of Doctor Strange. As the bartender fills them in about Thanos and the Infinity Stones, they are forced back to their home universe on Earth-688, to the same bar. Still on the run after their recent battle with Carnage, the apparent murder of Patrick Mulligan makes international headlines with Eddie being named the prime suspect, forcing him to set out to New York City and attempt to clear his name, but unbeknownst to them they leave a bit of Venom at the bar.
Eddie and Venom have been being followed by a Xenophage without their knowledge. The recent events catch the attention of Rex Strickland, a soldier who oversees Imperium, a government operation at the site of the soon-to-be-decommissioned Area 51 for the capture and study of other symbiotes that have fallen to Earth. Another symbiote who eluded Strickland’s soldiers kills Mulligan, revealing that he survived his encounter with Carnage.
Mulligan is captured after being left for dead by the other symbiote. Dr. Imperium asks him questions after he forms a bond with one of the contained symbiotes and is questioned. Teddy Paine and Sadie “Christmas” to learn about the symbiotes’ purpose on Earth before Strickland is ordered to bring Venom down.
While attaching themselves to the side of an airplane bound for New York City, Eddie and Venom are attacked by the Xenophage tracking them and are forced to drop off into the Nevada desert. Venom explains to Eddie that Xenophages were unleashed into the universe by Knull, the creator of the symbiotes, to retrieve a Codex, which is forged when a symbiote resurrects its host. This can free Knull from the prison the symbiotes trapped him in long ago.
Because Venom revived Eddie once before[c], they now carry a Codex, which the Xenophage has tracked to Earth. After being ambushed by Strickland and his team while barely escaping from them and the Xenophage, Eddie meets Martin Moon and his family of traveling hippies and alien enthusiasts who offer him a free ride to Las Vegas on their way to Area 51. Meanwhile, Mulligan’s new symbiote informs Strickland of Knull’s intentions for the Codex, which can only be destroyed if either Eddie or Venom dies.
Arriving in Las Vegas, Eddie and Venom run into Mrs. Chen at a casino and Venom shares a dance with her before being ambushed by the Xenophage again. Strickland’s team arrives, separates Venom from Eddie and takes them to Area 51 where Eddie reunites with Mulligan. Sadie frees Venom, who re-bonds with Eddie after Strickland shoots him.
This attracts the Xenophage to the base, and Mulligan is killed in battle. Venom has the other confined symbiotes released, which bond with Sadie and other hosts to fight off the Xenophage, who has signaled to Knull that the Codex has been found. Knull sends more Xenophages through portals to Earth, overwhelming the symbiotes.
Realizing he must sacrifi
ce himself to destroy the Codex and save the universe, Venom merges with the Xenophages, leads them into acid tanks, and bids Eddie farewell before ejecting him as a mortally-wounded Strickland sets off his grenades to destroy them. While Eddie becomes unconscious as the base burns, Teddy forms a bond with a symbiote to save Sadie from the explosion.
Eddie later awoke in a hospital, where a military official informed him that he has been expunged for his actions with Venom at Area 51, subject to his keeping the events a secret. Arriving in New York City, Eddie gazes at the Statue of Liberty while remembering Venom.
In a mid-credits scene, Knull declares that the universe is no longer safe from him now that Venom has fallen. In a post-credits scene, the bartender, who was taken into custody by Strickland shortly after Eddie left for New York, escapes the burned remains of Area 51. A black cockroach emerges from the rubble nearby, next to a broken vial containing a Venom symbiote sample.
Cast
Credit – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Venom:_The_Last_Dance#Cast
- Tom Hardy as Eddie Brock / Venom: An investigative journalist who is the host of Venom, an alien symbiote that imbues him with super-human abilities.[5]
- Chiwetel Ejiofor as General Rex Strickland: A commander for Imperium who is tracking Eddie and trying to capture Venom.[6][7][8]
- Juno Temple as Dr. Theodora “Teddy” Paine: A scientist for Imperium, haunted by the death of her brother from a lightning strike that also paralyzed her left arm.[8]
- Rhys Ifans as Martin Moon: A hippie and an alien enthusiast.[9]
- Stephen Graham as Patrick Mulligan: A former police detective who was infected with a symbiote after encountering Carnage, but is left for dead by it before he is captured by Imperium. Graham also voices an unnamed green symbiote with whom Mulligan bonds.[7][d]
- Peggy Lu as Mrs. Chen: A convenience store owner who befriended Eddie and Venom.[10]
- Clark Backo as Sadie “Christmas”: A researcher for Imperium.[11]
- Alanna Ubach as Nova Moon: Martin’s wife and fellow hippie.[9]
- Andy Serkis as Knull: The creator of the symbiotes, who seeks Eddie and Venom’s codex to free himself.[12][13] Director Kelly Marcel said about choosing Serkis, who directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021), to play the character: “We knew on Venom 2 that he was going to be this [Knull] character, we should be able to bring the character into this movie.”[14]
Additionally, Hala Finley and Dash McCloud portray Martin’s children Echo and Leaf Moon, respectively.[15] Cristo Fernández reprises his role as the bartender from the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Spider-Man: N
o Way Home (2021), as well as a version of the character from Venom’s universe.[10][16] Jack Brady portrays Jim, an Imperium security guard who bonds with a brown-colored symbiote, while Jade Nicholson-Lamb portrays Jade Clark, an Imperium lab technician who bonds with a violet-colored symbiote.[17][18][19] Reid Scott, who previously portrayed Dr. Dan Lewis in the first two Venom films, returns as the shadowy head of Imperium.[16][e]
Our General Review
let’s talk Venom: The Last Dance, the third and supposedly final round of Tom Hardy arguing with his inner goo monster. It’s a wild, messy ride, like if your weirdest buddy planned a road trip and forgot the map. Eddie Brock and Venom are on the run from cops, soldiers, and some nasty alien crabs sent by Knull, a grumpy swamp god who wants to end the world. Why? Something about a cosmic key called a Codex. Instead of solving this logically, Eddie and Venom hitchhike, hit Vegas, and dance to ABBA. Yeah, it’s that kind of movie.
Tom Hardy is the best part, playing Eddie like a hungover mess and Venom like a snarky gremlin who loves chocolate and chaos. Their banter is hilarious, like a rom-com where one guy’s a slob and the other’s a sentient oil spill. The scenes where Venom possesses a horse or they crash a casino with Mrs. Chen are so dumb they’re brilliant. I laughed till my sides hurt when Venom yells “Yee-haw!” while galloping. The action’s fun too, especially early on when Venom’s flipping bad guys like burgers. The visuals are sharp—those xenophage monsters look like angry shredders with teeth.
But the story? Oh boy, it’s a disaster. It’s like someone stuffed a dozen ideas into a blender and forgot to hit stop. Road trip with a hippie family, Area 51 lab drama, Knull muttering evil nonsense—it’s too much. Knull’s a big letdown, just a CGI grouch who barely shows up.
The side characters, like Chiwetel Ejiofor’s grumpy soldier and Juno Temple’s quirky scientist, are stuck in boring subplots that go nowhere. The hippie dad and his family feel like they got lost from another film. It wants to be a comedy, a thriller, and a tearjerker, but it keeps tripping over itself. The emotional stuff about Eddie and Venom’s bond feels forced, like a cheesy card you didn’t ask for.
Pacing’s rough too. The start drags, the middle’s a snooze, and the end’s a rushed CGI blob-fest. At under two hours, it shouldn’t feel this sloppy, but it does. By the finale, I cared less about the world ending and more about whether I’d parked in a tow zone. It’s the weakest of the three films, which is saying something when the last one had Carnage yelling for no reason.
Still, it’s not a total bust. Hardy’s a blast, the laughs hit when they’re weird, and it’s got this chaotic charm that’s hard to hate. It’s like finding a candy bar in your pocket—kinda crumpled, but you’ll eat it anyway. I’d give it a 6 out of 10. Fun, but it could’ve been epic if it picked a lane. Stay for the credits if you’re curious; there’s a mid-credits scene that teases something, but don’t expect much. Now I’m gonna go hum Dancing Queen and wish Venom got one more horse ride.
Production
Star Tom Hardy stated in August 2018 that he had signed on to star in three Venom films. In September 2021, Hardy noted that the producers would have to continue to develop Sony’s Spider-Man Universe (SSU) in future films but said they were also interested in crossing over with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) more.
Venom: Let There Be Carnage (2021) director Andy Serkis expressed interest in returning to direct another Venom film, and felt there was more to explore with Venom in future films before the character could meet Spider-Man in a future crossover film, including further exploration of the Ravencroft Institute and other potential villains being held there.
In October, Tom Holland said he and producer Amy Pascal had discussed him potentially reprising his MCU role as Peter Parker / Spider-Man in future Venom sequels, after he made a cameo appearance in Let There Be Carnage via footage from the MCU film Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021).
Neither Holland nor his character appeared in the finished film, despite Adam B. Vary later reporting in December 2024 that, according to one Sony source, The Walt Disney Company never precluded Sony from using Holland for their films, never happening out to a feeling within the studio that audiences wouldn’t accept Holland’s version of Spider-Man appearing in non-MCU films, especially after the releases of No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022), which established the definitive boundaries of the MCU’s multiverse.
Pascal stated in December that they were currently in the “planning stages” of Venom 3. Sony Pictures confirmed the film was in development at CinemaCon in April 2022. In June, Hardy revealed that Kelly Marcel was writing the screenplay after previously working on the prior Venom films and that he was co-writing the story with her. Hardy was set to be paid $20 million for his involvement.
Serkis was unable to return as director due to his commitments to Animal Farm, which he had delayed to work on Let There Be Carnage, but ultimately portrayed the character Knull in the film. Marcel signed on in October to make her directorial debut with the film, which was expected to conclude the Venom trilogy.
She was also set to produce the film alongside Avi Arad, Matt Tolmach, Pascal, Hutch Parker, and Hardy, all doing so through their respective production companies Arad Productions, Matt Tolmach Productions, Pascal Pictures, Hutch Parker Entertainment, and Hardy Son & Baker.
Columbia Pictures also produces in association with Marvel Entertainment. Hardy confirmed in February 2023 that pre-production work had begun. In April, Juno Temple began negotiations to join the cast in an unspecified “lead role.” The next month, filming was expected to begin in June in London, and Chiwetel Ejiofor was cast as Rex Strickland, when Temple was confirmed to have been cast. In June, the film was set for release in October 2024.
The film features Knull, the King in Black of the symbiotes who was introduced to the source material in 2018.
The filmmakers were always kept aware of the character, but decided they had to lay the foundations for Venom’s character and his relationship with Eddie Brock before featuring the Marvel supervillain.
As such, they looked for inspiration from the Venom comic books by David Michelinie, Todd McFarlane, Donny Cates and Ryan Stegman, the latter two being Knull’s creators, leading Sony to hire them for an advisory relationship and allowing at least Cates to read the screenplay. Cates and Stegman expected monetary compensation for the inclusion of Knull.
People Review
