Now that the first trailer for Venom: The Last Dance is upon us, an age-old question has resurfaced: Will Venom and Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy) finally go face-to-face with Tom Holland’s Spider-Man (or, perhaps, a different Peter Parker)? Well, it’s hard to say, but here are our strongest theories.
The Lethal Protector is back and slimier than ever in a new trailer for Sony Entertainment’s Venom: The Last Dance, which will mark the titular team’s final solo outing. Based on what we’ve seen, we’re in for another high-stakes romp—this time, as Eddie and Venom are “hunted by both of their worlds.” Ted Lasso alum Juno Temple, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ Chiwetel Ejiofor (hello, continuity errors), and Stephen Graham also star, along with Peggy Lu, who will reprise her role as the real MVP, Mrs. Chen. Kelly Marcel, who co-wrote the first two Venom films, directs.
From gooey symbiote horses to the “reveal” of our newest parasitic villain, Toxin, there’s a lot to unpack here when it comes to Venom: The Last Dance, but perhaps no questions are quite as pressing as this: When are we going to see Venom fight Spider-Man, dammit?!
Looking back on the first two films, there’s no doubt that the Venom franchise has floated in a liminal space of sorts, nestled firmly between the Sony Spider-Man Universe (SSU) and the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) thanks to some pretty head-scratching licensing agreements. However, it seemed as though fans were finally due to receive some long-awaited payoff when Eddie and Venom got a glimpse of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker in the final moments of 2021’s Venom: Let There Be Carnage. Moreover, the duo made a cameo in a post-credits scene for Spider-Man: No Way Home later that same year, but in true MCU fashion … it never really went anywhere. Or so we think.
Look, the MCU has long struggled with biting off more than it can chew, particularly regarding its ritualistic post-credits scenes. Fans’ mounting frustrations with the fact that, in most instances, these setups either take years to pick up, or are abandoned altogether, came to a head when Eddie and Venom just … kind of vanished into a bright light at the end of No Way Home, implying that they returned to their appropriate reality. But with Avengers: Secret Wars setting the stage for an all-out Multiversal war, could Venom: The Last Dance be the project to finally unite Eddie and Venom with Peter Parker?
Don’t get your hopes up about a Venom-MCU crossover (yet)
Clearly, studio execs from both the Sony and Marvel camp are aware that audiences are begging for Eddie Brock and Peter Parker to cross paths onscreen. After all, Venom might very well be Spider-Man’s most formidable foe next to Doctor Octopus and the Green Goblin. The two have a lengthy comic book history that played out onscreen in 2007’s Spider-Man 3, and with the SSU seemingly setting up a Sinister Six project, it would be a waste not to take advantage of the IP by bringing Venom fully into the MCU.
However, let’s be real … the third and final Venom entry might not be the right film to do so. Since this is the duo’s last solo adventure, it only makes sense that the threequel would focus solely on Venom and Eddie rather than establishing their role in the impending Multiversal war—that is, if both of them make it out alive. A more grounded story centered around Venom and Eddie’s relationship, all while running into some familiar comic book baddies, is a safe bet for the finale of the Tom Hardy-fronted trilogy, and could allow the pair to make their MCU debut in the—perhaps, more fitting—Spider-Man 4.
Plus, based on what we’ve seen in the latest Venom: The Last Dance trailer, it seems like Sony has already quietly dashed our hopes for a crossover. You see, Chiwetel Ejiofor’s character, who remains unknown, looks to have found his way to the main MCU timeline, and traps the parasitic blob left by Venom under a glass at the bar where he and Eddie were at during the events of No Way Home. Given that he’s probably doing so with the intent of bringing the alien goo back to his universe, it seems unlikely that the MCU’s Peter Parker would, somehow, stumble across it and bond with the symbiote, essentially shutting down a popular fan theory that would see Tom Holland’s Spidey getting a similar arc to Tobey Maguire’s.
Rhys Ifans, who plays The Lizard in the Andrew Garfield-helmed The Amazing Spider-Man, is also set to appear in Venom: The Last Dance, suggesting that he and Venom exist in the same SSU continuity—a longstanding theory that is, essentially, all but confirmed. With this in mind, it would be odd to see Ifans tackling a completely new character, which immediately has me thinking … Andrew Garfield cameo when?! Still, it’s worth noting that Chiwetel Ejiofor, who played Mordo in the Doctor Strange sequel, is playing a different antagonist, despite his connections to the MCU, so fans shouldn’t get their hopes up about anything pertaining to the film’s cast.
There are plenty of opportunities for Venom and Eddie to pop up in the MCU down the line, so fans shouldn’t get too down in the dumps if Holland’s Spider-Man (or any Spider-Man, for that matter) doesn’t make an appearance in the upcoming Venom entry. After all, we’ve got a whole Multiverse Saga ahead of us, and at least we know that Eddie and Peter are vaguely aware of each other’s existence. Here’s hoping that we see some time-bending, dimension-hopping antics soon, because seeing Holland and Hardy’s characters together isn’t a want; it’s a need.
Either way, we can look forward to seeing our favorite brain-gobbler on the big screen when Venom: The Last Dance arrives in theaters on October 25, 2024.
